Hi everyone,

Just a note to let you know what is going on with me. I have been waiting since July 09 for an invitation to an information meeting with Dr. Ellesmere in Nova Scotia (next Prov. only). In the meantime, our family decided to move to Ottawa, ON. The Ontario health system will pay for RNY, however I would only have coverage in Oct, and then I have to go through the whole process and they have a lot of people at various stages, plus they don't do the VSG.

So....I was seriously looking at Mexico, but my family have asked me not to do that, and my Mom is going to loan me some money. In Ottawa alot of people had been referred out of country (U.S.) as they didn't have a bariatric surgery program. I went to a support group meeting and 90 % of the people had their surgery with Dr. Graber / Dr. Fitzer in Utica / New Hartford, NY.

I called and their self pay price isn't bad ($6,000 cheaper than the Dr. in Montreal). It will be around 15,000. So I booked a consultation and I am driving there tonight. They have an information session at 8 a.m., and then I have my private consultation at 3 p.m.

I am really excited to hear what the Dr. has to say.....

Anyway, I'll keep you posted.

Nancy

Edited June 3, 201016 yr by iluvthesun
deleted tracker....gained that weight back....

Good luck with the consult, have a safe trip.

I hope it went well for you - do let us know how you got on.

Kathy

Hi there,

The consultation went well. The office seemed to be very efficiently organized. I attended an info. session with the surgeon and 6 other people. He only talked about the RNY and lapband, but gave good info. and explained things clearly.

He has been doing surgery for 4 years, is board certified, etc. He has done 1500 WLS in those 4 years and had good results.

At my consultation I met with the Intake person who did pulse, Blood pressure, weight, height (I shrank - eek), medical & family history, prescriptions.

Then I met with the licensed practical nurse who answered a lot of my questions and told me what the process was, what to expect, etc.

Then I met with the Dr. He felt I was a good candidate and only need the regular testing done - EKG and blood work. However, he recommended the RNY - feels it gets better results in the long term. He said VSG is becoming popular because it is a less complicated surgery to perform. He has only done 2 VSG's, using a 32 bougie (tight at the top, loose at the bottom with oversewing). He said the bottom part of the stomach is thicker and moves around more so the oversewing for that part makes it more secure.

I told him that I would research it a bit further, but I think I still want the VSG. In the long run I would like to be able to have something with a bit of sugar and not pay the price.

They were ready to book the surgery for the middle of July or 2nd week of August. But I have to talk to my boss, and I am in the process of buying a house, getting separated, moving my family and trying to juggle $ for all.

Thanks for asking.

Nancy

HI Nancy

Sounds like you're well into the research part of the journey. Its always worth seeing at least 2 or 3 surgeons for different opinions....as he hasn't done that many he may not favour them yet as he might be more comfortable with the RNY and band.

As a self pay you have a lot more choice than others, so enjoy your time deciding. Its an important decision to make, but I'm sure you'll be ok with it,

Keep us informed

Kathy