Did you have your surgery done here in Canada or in Mexico with self pay.

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<LABEL for=rb_optionnumber_2><INPUT id=rb_optionnumber_2 type=radio value=2 name=optionnumber>Canada</LABEL>

(p.s. andree, this is primarily an American message board, although there are lots of people from Canada and elsewhere)

Well, considering we (in Canada) are so far away from Mexico, I say Canada. We can get our fills here and if anything goes wrong ... our doctor is near.

I know there are a lot of happy Mexibanded people here. The difference between the bandits in the US and here is that there are a LOT more band doctors for our US friends for after care fills etc. What do we have in the West 3???????

Good luck with your decision.

I'm canadian and am having the procedure in Canada. By the time you figure in the exchange rate and travel expenses, I think it would be more expensive to have it in Mexico. And who needs the hassle of trying to find a canadian surgeon for aftercare.

Hi, I was recently banded in Mexico (9-20-06) and the whole experience was wonderful. Dr's and the whole staff in hospital were so helpful and so nice. I would have had this surgery done in America except I was self-pay and the cost of my surgery was half of what it would have cost me in the US (including airfare). I have to pay for my fills, which I know would have been included if I had the surgery in US, but the Dr that I looked into in the US only did four fills. After the fourth fill, I would be charged, so half the price along with $200 per fill is still so much less than what I would have paid in the US.

The Toronto Lap Band Centre charges $16000 Canadian for the operation and all aftercare, including unlimited fills. Taking into account the weaker Canadian dollar this price seems to be on a par with the most reasonable of the U.S. centres and cheaper than many of them.

Of course this equation always changes when you live far away from a centre that offers lap band surgery for then you have to factor in the cost of airfares and the added problem of finding a local "fill" doctor. From what I have read on this site the Mexican centres are terrific and provide great patient care. The two doctors who are the TLBC's surgeons are also terrific and provide great patient care. Do the Mexican centres include free aftercare, including fills, in their fees? And what about getting there? Is it easier, cheaper, and faster to get to Toronto? or does it not matter?

I find myself asking you these questions because I know that you are living in an extremely remote part of Canada. It may well be cheaper for you to fly to Mexico than to Toronto. (My husband and I wanted to fly to the Canadian north; it was much cheaper for us to fly to Paris!) You have a lot of research to do. I hope that my post has helped.

I looked at getting the surgery done in Canada but decided on Mexico for a couple of reasons:

1. Cost - With the exchange rate, hotel, flight, and surgery will only cost me $10,000. And that's including the cost for a plane ticket for my sister to come with me for support. A considerable difference from the Canadian clinics. If I had it in Toronto or Montreal, I'd have to add flight and hotel costs onto that. In Vancouver (where I am), 1 doctor is retiring soon, 1 doctor in Victoria has a 6-8 month waiting list (how much weight could I gain in that time?? :omg: ) and the other doctor is again too expensive.

2. Depending on the surgeon in Mexico, they have done more surgeries than all of the Canadian doctors put together. Consider that the Montreal clinic touts on their website that "their team" has done over 400 bandings. Dr. Ortiz in Tuijana, who is considered one of the front runners in North America for banding, has done in excess of 4000 surgeries.

I am still waiting to hear if the doc in Vancouver will do my fills. If not, Dr. Ortiz has a doctor in Seattle who will and it's only a 3 hour drive away (and we've got family in Everett, just north of Seattle).

Ultimately, you have to make a decision of where and with whom that you're comfy with....and what you can afford....

I start my pre-op diet in 2 days....whoo hoo! Good luck to all of you!

I am from Canada and luckily found a surgeon about 1/2 hour from my home. Bottom dollar cost to me: $13,000. Fills will be covered by my medical.

Kat.