Can anyone who has had their VSG done at an MTF please let me know where it was done and if you were from out of state, and also how your experience was?

I am having a hard time finding an MTF near me and when I found one kinda close, but still out of state, they said they could not take out of state patients.

I would like to hear any input anyone has on this. I would also like to thank Tiffykins for helping me so much.

I just don't think I will ever be able to afford to self-pay and am getting discouraged.

Thanks everyone!!

I just had surgery at San Diego Naval Hospital (Balboa). I was set to have surgery by civilian and tricare was going to pay for bypass but to make a long story short God closed all those doors and I ended up at Balboa. Now I will say that I feel like I had to jump through more hoops and around more obstacles than if I had it done at civilian facility. My surgeeon was experienced and his staff cared about me. It is almost like they do not want to perform many of these because you have to be VERY determined to get through all their pre-op but if you are determined there is literally $0 out of pocket. We live 3 hours from MTF where it was performed so Tricare is paying for trip there and two night hotel for my hubby while I was in surgery. I was so disappointed when things didnt go the way I planned in the beginning but I know now that I wouldnt have ended up with a sleeve if I had pushed to have the civilian doctor. Good Luck to you. I am sure that if surgery is right for you there will be a way for it to all work out.

I am set to get the sleeve at Portsmouth Naval Hospital but I live in DC. The DC area program was full and not accepting any patients so they were referring people out in town. Since VSG isn't covered that way I started calling other MTFs to find one that would accept me. NMCP is out of state for me and about 4 hours away....

Who told you they wouldn't accept out of state patients? Was it the general surgeon office or program coordinator?

It was the head nurse and she told me the surgeon is the one that decided that they wouldn't accept people from too far away. Maybe I said it wrong earlier, she said they wouldn't see anyone from more than 2.5 hours away. Which, that is out of state for a lot of people cause Texas is BIG..lol...Ok that was San Antonio.

Then I called West Point, they said they wouldn't either. She kept saying, you are out of our area, over and over. I told her I was willing to travel and even stay there several weeks after surgery and definitley come back for follow ups, but she say N-O.

The one in San Antonio said I had to be available for at least 3 months after surgery and then asked if I had any relatives or friends in the area I could stay with, so they dont really require you to live there, they just want you close by afterwards. But, sadly I do not know anyone around there.

I wonder if NMCP would take me? Did you get all your bloodwork, tests, etc done there or at home?

There are facilities doing the sleeve, that's where I am getting mine done on the 15th, I was very concerned about doing it in a military facility but the hospitals in the local area have much worse reputation where I live except for one who ranks top 5% in the country. I know that surgeons in the military are usually young and are getting their hands on experience with "us". But one thing I have learned in my life is to trust and to ask when in doubt, I also believe that military surgical teams are meticulous as is the nature of being held to robotic expectations such as in the military so I will let you know how it goes for me. But I will say one of the most important people is the anesthesia team:) so you might want to ask about them, they have a lot more power than the surgeon over your life during surgery it takes <5 seconds to make a fatal mistake. The lapband is a complete turn off for me and so is the gastric bypass(too many reasons to list) I see the sleeve as me getting a child like stomach that allows me to stop. Good luck to you in whatever you decide.

Thanks for the reply butterfly! I have indeed called MANY mtf's and none would take me from so far away. There are none near me. Soooo..............

I wonder if NMCP would take me? Did you get all your bloodwork, tests, etc done there or at home?

I've had to get all my bloodwork tests and visits done down at NMCP. It hasn't been easy hauling my Cookies down there but I'm happy to do it. We have friends stationed down there so I've been doing over night trips for all my appointments. Give them a call - it can't hurt to ask!

Have you tried fort hood they are doing the sleeve here at fort hood it may be worth a shot for you to call them and ask.

I am getting mine done tomorrow at Eglin AFB. Fort WaltonBeach,Fl. I have not had any problems so far. My doctor is Riley. They are very thorough.

I will be getting my surgery done at theVA in Pittsburgh PA. Dr. Eid also does bariatric surgery at a civilian hospital in Pittsburg also.

I just had surgery at San Diego Naval Hospital (Balboa). I was set to have surgery by civilian and tricare was going to pay for bypass but to make a long story short God closed all those doors and I ended up at Balboa. Now I will say that I feel like I had to jump through more hoops and around more obstacles than if I had it done at civilian facility. My surgeeon was experienced and his staff cared about me. It is almost like they do not want to perform many of these because you have to be VERY determined to get through all their pre-op but if you are determined there is literally $0 out of pocket. We live 3 hours from MTF where it was performed so Tricare is paying for trip there and two night hotel for my hubby while I was in surgery. I was so disappointed when things didnt go the way I planned in the beginning but I know now that I wouldnt have ended up with a sleeve if I had pushed to have the civilian doctor. Good Luck to you. I am sure that if surgery is right for you there will be a way for it to all work out.

Hi!

I am just now going through the process. Went to a civilian surgeon last week, who recommended the sleeve to me. He did tell me that Tricare doesn't cover this outside an MTF, and told me about Balboa. I am in the process of having my referral from my PCM changed to Balboa.

Can you please tell me what the process was once you got your referral to Balboa? What did you have to do in order to have the surgery there? Any info you can give would help ease my worries tremendously!

Thanks so much!

Amy