Hi all,

I am new to this site and I am also researching the lap-band procedure. I am interested in knowing if anybody has had their procedure done at the detriot medical center? I have a BMI of 34 and so far, to have the procedure done, I have found very few places that will do it. Obviously, I am self-pay and I am trying to find people who have had their procedure done there and what their experiences have been. This is a big decision and one that needs to be researched and I want to know all the facts, good and bad. So any help would greatly be appreciated. I did comment about this in the DOCTORS AND HOSPITAL thread, but nobody has responded yet. So I thought I would try this area.

Thank you,

Sheila

I had mine done at Harper (the hospital in the system they do it at, it's all the same campus). MOSS group did mine, Dr. Gazareyli, he did a great job. I was banded 07-11-07 and go tomorrow for my first fill. Have heard from other people that all the doctors in the group are great. Support staff for the office is also really nice. I'm very happy so far. Since surgery I have lost 14lbs, 7lbs pre-surgery diet and 6 lbs before that.

Hi Sheila,

I had mine done also at Harper Hospital 6/27/07 the same campus as DMC. Was placed by Dr.Andre Nunn, he & his staff are wonderful. If you have some co morbidities you may covered, best to attend a few seminars of Docs you like/hear good things about and talk with them about that at your consult, you never know.

I'm doing well had my 2nd fill and am down 29lbs. I cannot stress enough the great nursing care & pain control I received at Harper and the rooms were private which was nice. Wonderful care. Dr. Nunn uses the On Q pain pump too which made my incision pain very very minor.

Good luck!

-Sara

Hi,

My name is Jane. I am scheduled to have LapBand surgery at Harper Hospital (Detroit Medical Center) on August 28th. My surgeon is Dr. Matthew Weiner. I have heard from others that he is very good. I will let you know how it went when I get back home.

I have really searched out the up and downs and I also have a BMI of 34.9 and the insurance company thought that I should gain 40 more pounds to qualify for surgery. So I am self pay

Great to get all of these comments. The best way to find out about the care is to ask and I really appreciate all of the information.

Great to get all of these comments. The best way to find out about the care is to ask and I really appreciate all of the information.

It is ridiculous that the insurance companies are the ones that dicate who can and cannot have surgery and to tell somebody to gain weight is just not right. I have decided to go to Mexico instead of Detroit, only because I could not get financing for the entire $11,800. I have done my research and I have been in contact with Dr. Gonzalez's office in Tijuana and things have been really good. I am scheduled for the 14th of September. There have been a lot of people posting their experiences that they have had with Dr. Gonzalez and I feel that i am in good hands. I had concerns about after care, but they check in on you weekly to make sure that all is well and they also correspond with you if you have any questions at all. I have aftercare set up for at home and it would not be any different if I was traveling to Detroit....that is about an 8 hour drive for me. So, I feel that I am making the right decision.

Good luck for your search.

Sheila, considering the fact that we pay so much for insurance and we add extra cost because were heavy it seems they would want to help more. I have other health problems that qualify me but I would be lying if I didn't say my self esteem matters also. You probable have read the everything like I have and it seems that the Mexico choice has met the needs of many people. I think that is great and I am glad you will be able to do that.

Sheila, considering the fact that we pay so much for insurance and we add extra cost because were heavy it seems they would want to help more. I have other health problems that qualify me but I would be lying if I didn't say my self esteem matters also. You probable have read the everything like I have and it seems that the Mexico choice has met the needs of many people. I think that is great and I am glad you will be able to do that.

I work in the medical field so I know first hand how these insurance companies operate. Unfortunately, if they would look at the money they shell out for the problems that are attributed to obesity (and it doesn't have to be morbid obesity) they would see that this would save them money in the long run.

Don't get me wrong, the whole "Mexico Thing" had me scared. When this was suggested to me, my first response was "absolutely not". BUT, after reading the many stories about mexico and the surgeons, I decided to start researching more about it and I finally decided that thousands of people can't be wrong. I mean there is definitely some doctors that I would not even let my dog go to, but if you do your research you can weed out the bad from the good. Followup is a major concern of mine. I wanted to make sure that there was going to be somebody there to answer my questions right away and I think I found the right doctor. I can't say for certain if it will hold true, because I have not been banded yet, but I will definitely let people know if it doesn't. I would not want to support a doctor that doesn't follow through or one that is only there for the surgery and not afterwards. Any surgery carries complications and i wanted to make sure if a complication would arise, that I would be treated the same way I was treated before and during my surgery. I am sure you have read some of the posts that prove some doctors are not as helpful afterwards as they are before and during.

I am scheduled for Harper Hospital from St.Louis. Sounds great...but how are they on fills?

I am scheduled at Harper thru Beliteweight (which has not received good comments). Their intro price of 11,700 was great. My primary wants all the info I can gather (can't believe I'm scheduling surgery thru the internet & phone). Thanks for everything you can tell me!

Hi,

My name is Jane. I had Lap-Band surgery at Harper Hospital on August 28th. My experience was very good. I have no complaints. Matthew Weiner was my doctor. I really liked him a lot. I just went for my first fill on Oct. 8th. It is not bad at all.

I've lost 22 pounds so far. And find that I am not at all hungry this week after my fill. I would highly recommend Harper Hospital and Dr. Weiner.

I was banded on Sept 27th by Dr. Weiner at Harper Hospital in Detroit. I had a wonderful experience and would recommend them.

Hi,

I'm having banding done at Harper on Oct. 24. My surgeon is Dr. Hawasli, who is the chief of Minimally Invasive Surgery at St John Hospital. In order for my Medicare to cover, the surgery must be done at a "center of excellence". St John is not, so I had to wait for the doc to be certified by Harper, then wait for available space. I've waited since Feb.

I'm familiar w/Harper, but not for banding. I know that the staff was caring when they took care of my mom. I suspect the treatment by the staff will be the same. I'll report back after the 24th.

Hi all,

Well, I had the banding done Wednesday at Harper. The staff was great, but there were some mess-ups. Because there were so many surgeries, I waited in Recovery from 4 to 10 PM. Then signing out, the doc released me @ 2:30, but noone knew it until I checked. Took another hour to get me out of there. Finally, I signed up to get my prescription filled and waiting for me. Guess what?? I had the prescription, not filled. AND THEY ASKED ME AT LEAST 3 TIMES PLUS I SIGNED A FORM!!!!! :faint: :faint:

Would I go back there? In a heartbeat. These were just bureaucratic foul-ups. Too bad they all happened in a bunch to me. That's the luck of the draw.

Gotta go walk again.

Julia

I agree with most of the things said about having the surgery at Harper. I loved doctor Weiner and the pre op nurse was wonderful. There was just a lot of bad communication between all the staff and I had the same issue with getting my perscriptions. I would suggest opting to fill your own when you get home if you can at your pharmacy.

I would go back to Harper but with the understanding I will most likely have to deal with mix ups and bad communication. But it is worth it to have doctor Weiner.