I have read that there are surgi-centers that do lap band surgery with no overnight stay. Does anyone know of any of these surgi-centers on the East Coast. I understand that an over night might be needed if there are complications ( I am an RN).....but I really do not want to stay in the hospital, and would travel to not have too!

Thanks,

Robin

Robin, all of the doctors I know of around here (in NJ and NY) do lap banding surgery as an outpatient procedure. It's in a hospital, but there is no admission and no overnight stay. It's routine!

Thanks, it might be worth it to drive to Morristown...I will look into it!

There is a center in Chattanooga which does it as an outpatient. Dr. Ponce is the surgeon the phone # is 866-214-4441 or 423 899-1000.

Hope this helps.

For my surgery, I was kept overnight only because of my sleep apnea and vein problems in my legs...otherwise they would have discharged me the same day...wanted to make sure I didn't have a pulmonary embolism.

So...the overnight or not may be generally based on comorbidities. My surgeon's motto is 'no surprises', so they put me through extensive tests before surgery...found a hiatal hernia that they fixed when they put the band on.

I think that the majority of programs will do the procedure on an outpatient basis for self-pay patients. A nurse with the program told us that the overnight stay is more of an insurance issue than a medical one. Some insurance companies require an overnight stay (go figure!). Some insurance companies will only pay $900 - $1000 for an outpatient lap-band, which doesn't come close to paying for the band itself (about $3500).