Hi my name ia Yasmina,

:grouphug: I am not banded yet and I am feeling a little scared about the whole thing. I plan on traveling to Toronto for the surgery.It sure is expensive: but then again you can't put a price on health. D oes anyone know if there is a health insurance company that cover this ?

Welcome Yasmina!! Well it is a scary process but is worth all of it. My insurance covered the whole thing I have Aetna, I know many people that had it completely covered by different insurance companies. I'm glad mine did, my insurance paid a little over $20,000 for the whole thing. Surgeon, hospital, anesthesiologist, everything. I could have never been able to afford it. I had the surgery August 9th and I'm very happy I did it. Good Luck to you!!

Hey Yasmina, you found it!

I don't believe any private insurance companies cover this in Canada. In BC our BC medical plan will cover more drastic bariatric surgery but not the band. Go figure.

Welcome Yasmina, are you from Canada?? I don't think you'll find anyone to cover this procedure in Canada. But of course it never hurts to try.

Hi Yasmina, what a beautiful name!Welcome! if your in ontario (like me) sadly, its not covered at all.:cry but you may get something back at tax time.:grouphug:

Hi Yasmina...and yes....welcome to the Canuck Corner.

Too bad that the first post to your query misled you....it is quite obvious that person was NOT from Canada....don't get sidetracked from the non-Canadian responses; very different story indeed.

No....nobody has been able to have it covered in Canada as far as we know.

Good luck in your decision and the process...it is really a small price to pay for your health and a long and happy life!

:grouphug:

Welcome to our Canadian site Yasmina, as everyone else has said we had to self pay, no help from anyone. For me it was money well spent.

Maria:)

hello~ my ins. covered it 100% Optium Choice - My Doctor's fee for the surgery..selfpay is 14,000 in MARYLAND!

Another Canadian here... Had to pay for it myself. OHIP did not cover any part of it.

WELCOME Yasmina. Yes it is a nice name.Come join us on the Canadian site.

Hello, Thank you for the name complement. I have been looking into Dr. Cobourn in Scarborough. I seen to hear his name a lot. What is he like ? Since I will be coming in from out of town, how mobile are you the day after the procedure ? Are you fully asleep for it ? Can you see the port site as you lose weight?

Y

Hello, So Know I know the cost will rest on me.

I guess there are just somethings that you need to do . How much pain is involved in the surgery ? How many holes do they need put in you ? are there any stitches involved ? I may be sounding a little silly, but I am a little scared about the whole thing.

Y

Yas here are some quick answers to your ?

1. You are mobile enough to go home and sleep

2.Yes you are fully asleep for the procedure

3.No you cannot see the port sight as you lose weight in most cases

4.Pain varies by patient but it is generally not a big deal

5.% holes most of them smaller than a dime but the one for your port is about 2 inches 9Suggest you click on search and do a serach for the word scar, there is a thread here called Scar Stages that has some pictures)

6.Yes there are stitches.

I think you need to do a little research and this is a good spot but there is plent of info including descriptions of the procedure along with information on diet if you google Lapriscopic surgery and ask lots of questions here you should find out all you need to know.

Good luck

Answer number 5 the % sign should be a 5 I guess I had the shift key pressed

Hi Yasmina

Iam pre-surgery too. I am having my surgery done by Dr. Cobourn in Mississauga Ont. on Nov. 29th. I have had laproscopic surgery for other things and it has never been a big deal. I think the anasthetic takes more out of you than the surgery does. This process is scary, but it is also exciting to think how much your life will change over the course of the next year or two. Spend LOTS of time searching the web for info about this specific surgery. You can even see a video of the actual surgery. I just can't remember which site it was on. Maybe Dr. Cobourn's?????

Nancy

Hi Y, I found the pain of surgery minimal. I never had surgery before and I expected more pain. It is very localized to the cuts, and some people have gas pain in shoulders and what-not but chewing gas x relieves that. There are 5 cuts. 4 of them are like puncture cuts, very small. 1 is about 2 inches. I did not have any stitches on the 4 cuts, just tape. And on the bigger one, just a couple stitches that are cut about 2 weeks later. I was also very scared, but very excited too. You should be excited too, what a great decision you've made. I had Dr. Cobourn. I cannot say enough about him. I Love Him!!!! He will put you at ease the minute you see him. Others on this site had their procedures done at TLBC and loved thier experience as well. Keep us posted!!!