Looking for a good Doctor in Baltimore for lap band procedure.....anyone know of one? Thanks!

Hi,

Just thought I'd let you know that GBMC does banding. I am seeing Dr. David von Rueden there. He came recommended by my primary doc. I am schedule for surgery on July 12...35 days but who's counting..

Anyway, so far I've had a good experience. First you have to go to the mandatory information session which explains all the procedures they do and then there is a 2 hour consultation where you meet the nurses, nutrionist and the doctor. I didn't feel rushed at all and he answered every crazy question I had. And trust me I had A LOT!!

I hope this helps. Good Luck on your Journey.

Gail

I don't know of any in B'more but I'm about an hour from you in Reston, VA. Check out Advanced Weight Loss Solutions :: Home. The staff there has been awesome so far and they have an outpatient surgery center at Reston Hospital. I went to a seminar with them intially and then had everything else done within a week. Just took some scheduling (on my end) to get the surgery date. Good luck to you!

I was banded by Dr. Christina Li at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore on 2/16/07. My expereience so far has been great. Sinai program is great support from the information sessions, pre-op and psot consults and the nutritionist on staff is great. I highly recommend looking into their program.

I had a very bad experience with GBMC and I am now going to The Weight Loss Clinic in Harrisburg, PA, as I live in PA about halfway between Baltimore and Harrisburg. I am an ICU RN and I found the surgeon and dietitian to be fantastic, but their nurse practitioner did not impress me. My BMI was borderline to start with at 39.4 and the NP put me on a diet that my insurance company did not require, and *me* trying to prove to myself and everyone else that I was serious about this decision made the mistake of actually loosing 20 pounds leaving me with a BMI of 37. Mea Culpa. Of course, I was told that they should have submitted my beginning weight/BMI by people on these boards.

Anyway, the NP called me said said they were submitting me for approval. Then she called back and said she had made a mistake - and that I still needed a sleep study. So, 3 months into this, after having all my testing done and paying nearly $1,000 out of my pocket, including the $300 that they charge for the NP and Dietitian, I get a call from the office insurance handler. She told me that the NP had talked with the surgeon and they wanted me to pay them $14,000 up front for the surgery. They refused to even try to submit it to my insurance. I told them, as it was the NP's fault for choosing to put me on a diet which my insurance didn't require rather than just getting my testing done and leave it at that, I was done. I wanted a copy of my chart. If I have to pay $14,000 to someone it is going to be someone with some common sense!

So, I did some investigation. I called my insurance company and they told me that even though it was an outpatient procedure and did not require prior approval, it *could* be submitted anyway just to make sure it would be covered. GBMC would not do that. To make a long story short, in May I made an appointment with Dr. Currie in Harrisburg and the first thing his staff did when I told them my story was cock her head sideways and ask me why did they put you on a diet? That was when I knew I was in the right place! They took all the testing I had just had done and basically fast-tracked me through their program (of course I have gained back the 20 pounds I lost out of frustration alone!). They are going to submit me for my insurance approval and I should know something within a month.

Bottom line, I can't recommend GBMC, but I hope your luck with them was better than mine.

I was banded at GBMC, Dr. van Ruden has left. I had doctor Babak Molinolmolki, Dr M, he took a little getting used to as he doesn't chat until he thinks thing through. What I liked about him is 1. He didn't let me bully him into doing things my way. 2. He does have a sense of humor once he gets to know you 3. I get really tickled at his shoes 4. his staff is great!

Good luck

I was banded by Dr. M on June 6th. You're right, he is a man of few words until you get to know him and yes he does have a good sense of humor once he gets to know you. And you gotta love the Shoes, they're to cute. I felt he did a great job with my surgery. I had no pain, no gas and Ive done really well so far.