HI everyone, I am wondering if I should go to the states- (closer) or make the trip to Toronto, that would be 4 hours away. I am most worried about any complications or follow ups? Has anyone done this long disance? Thanks for any and all help.

well -i'm not 4 hours - but i'm in the north country.

1.5 hours away from clinic.

if you are in general good health - there should be vertually no complications. if you heal well you should be good.

if you tend to get sick easy - flus, colds, viruses that type of thing. what you might want to do is plan on spending 3 or 4 days post surgery in the TO area - near the clinic - be sure you have someone who knows you well and can tell if your not feeling well or reacting well.

but - honestly - day 1 after surgery - was sleepy and slept most of the day. day 2 - i was up and wandering in the house looking forwomething to keep my hands busy. day 3 - was ready to take on the world. had more energy than i could ever know what to do with.

was eating mushy, mushy stuff and liquids. getting my teeth clenaed was and is far more complicated.

hope it helps, you need to decide where you are most comfortable. remember you need to do your followups where you have your surgery.

good luck.

if nothing else - close you eyes and pick one from a hat.

L

I'd say there's many criteria

1- Doctor (which doctor are you more comfortable with)

2- Aftercare (distance from clinic, price of aftercare...etc)

3- Price (should only be considered if the other two criteria are even

i may be forgetting something, but thats what im thinking of right now

Thank you L, Looks like I will consult with both, How long did it take you from when you decided to surgery? Also who was your doctor? I would also like to thank you for being so open and helpful, this is quite a decision, and your input is certainly helping.

Hi: Going to far away, can bring complications with the fills after surgery. Many doctors will not take on the after care of another surgeon. Many GPs, don't like to do the fills so unless you are prepared to fly back to wherever you had the surgery check it out carefully. So if you get stuck, you have the the upleasant choice of going to ER where the snarky doctors and nurses tell you that it serves you right for having a band done privately. If you want my outright advice stay in Canda close to home. Speaking from experience. Doddie

I sounds to me like you Live in either Windsor or Niagra area, being that close to the states.

I read about a bariatric clinic in detroit that does the LAPBand for 11K U.s. dollars, which is cheaper than TLBC in Ontario. 16K Canadian. With the Cdn dollar at 95~ US its a good time to go there speaking money wise only.

A good friend of mine got her SUrgery (RNY Bypass) done in Ypsilanti Michigan at the Barix Clinic there... THEY WERE FANTASTIC... but I don't know what they charge for pay as you go Canadians for the LapBand. But while WE were waiting in the patient lounge HALF of all the folks we talked to were from all over Ontario...

Just a thought.

Good luck to you in what ever you decide. I am going to TLBC,my surg. in July 11th ( booked, paid and in in under 2 wks!) whew!

Great choice great people, excellent doctor. Even though I am having trouble with getting my fills in BC, I would still go back to Dr. Yau. I am sure others would praise their doctors but Dr. Yau was one of the pioneers that brought the band to Canada. Doddie

I was banded in Sarnia, that may be an option for you. But I would stay close to home because going for fills or just followups right after is a bit of a pain. I live 3 hours away from Sarnia, so you are talking 6 hours on the road alone. I would suggest looking into staying close to were you live. If you are close to Sarnia, I was banded at the Bluewater Surgical Centre in Point Edwards ON, you can check them out on the net. I was a self pay and my doctor referred me to this clinic. Hope this helps you. Good Luck!

there are lots of folks on the site who have done both the US and the TLBC - I'm partial to the clinic - Dr Yau and his staff are terrific and I don't see many posts where out of towners have problems but you may want to research other threads here. Enjoy your research and ask as many questions as you can before deciding - either way you won't regret starting your journey.

Out of towners have a great deal of problems with fills and defills. Some are very fortunate to have local doctors who will do fills but most others have to travel great distances, even down to the US. The greatest fear for us is the emergency defill. Not many ERS are trained nor are very empathic to our plight. We are also short on person to person support groups. Internet is OK but will never replace the comaradie one can get from friends in a support group. Still you would be hard pressed to find anyone of us that would not get the band. Doddie

I too live on a border town, Sault Ste. Marie. The centre I was considering is in Traverse City, about 3 hour drive. Only problem, they require a BMI of at least 40 without other health issues, I suppose I'm fortunate not to have these but without 12 months of supervised medical attempts at weight loss, my doc can't write anything that could be helpful to me. She is suggesting that I try Meridia, I'm sure it would work but I know I'd just creep back up again eventually. Third time in my life I've needed to lose over 50lbs, and getting tired of trying. I don't mind the odd road trip, think I'll just head to Mississauga, great excuse to get away! lol

Beau there is also a consideration about a tax deduction as medical expense - some of the posts have indicated that procedures done in the US do not qualify - others have mentioned that you need to choose the clinic closest to you as well. If these factors are a consideration, perhaps a call to a tax accountant is something you should make. Just a thought.

Beau there is also a consideration about a tax deduction as medical expense - some of the posts have indicated that procedures done in the US do not qualify - others have mentioned that you need to choose the clinic closest to you as well. If these factors are a consideration, perhaps a call to a tax accountant is something you should make. Just a thought.

This is an important issue to take into account when making your decision. The tax break which you will get on your surgery is sizeable.