Hi Everyone:

I looked on the local support board for VA, and found nothing, so I thought I'd post here. I live in western Loudoun County, VA, near West Virginia and Maryland, and one hour west of Washington DC. I'm trying to find a good Dr. for the Lap Band surgery, and was hoping someone might have experience with Dr.s in the DC Metro area.

BTW, my insurance is Kaiser Permanente. I asked them if they cover this surgery, and they said yes. Of course, they also said they would cover my home birth, and then denied the claim, and then paid the claim when my son was 8 months old! So, who knows how that will pan out.

Thanks,

kim-

go to www.obesityhelp.com and on the entry page click-'find a bariatric surgeon'- then click on your state. You can look at all sureon in your area, read reviews, and see what type of insurance the poeple who have used them have.

Amanda

Kim,

I too have Kaiser and live in Germantown, Maryland. I had a lapband in January 2004 and at that time Kaiser would only pay for a RNY which I did not want. I also have Medicare so I went out of Kaiser for the lapband. Dr. Hazem Elariny did my band. He is in Vienna, Virginia. His number is 703-465-5060. I highly recommend him. He is a wonderful surgeon. If you have any questions about him email me at sljoseph@comcast.net.

Stephanie

That's really helpful information. Kaiser has been a big pain with denying claims before, so I'm ready to deal with them on this one. I found out there is a Dr. in Fairfax that does banding. His name is Dr. Chebli. Have you heard anything about him? I looked at the obesityhelp.com site, and found him there. He says he does banding, but it looks like most of his work is RNY.

Thanks!

Kim,

I don't know anything about Dr. Chebli so I can't help there. Good luck with Kaiser. They can really be a pain.

Stephanie