Hello, just joined this forum today. I live in Sault Ste. Marie and don't know anyone who has gone through with this procedure. I have decided to move forward and will be having a phone consultation soon. Wondered if anyone from the Soo, Sudbury or area have been banded or are in the process.

Hi I am from Thunder Bay !

I'm from (Georgian Bay Area), drove to Toronto for my proceedure

I'm from Northern Ontario, and wondered where I could get banded? In Thunder Bay? Sault Ste. Marie? Sudbury? or do I have to go to Toronto? Any information would help.

Thx.

As far as I know there are two GOOD centres in Toronto to do Lap Band. But there is another in Montreal that I've read about on this site...

Sarnia Ontario has the Blue Water Surgical Clinic they do Plastic Surg. and now Lap Band too... their Lap surg. is Dr. Joffee who used to be at TLBC where I got done.

Good luck with your search.

I have nothing but good things to say about TLBC, I'd recommend them

I don't beleive there is any place more North for you

would going to Michigan be closer for you??? As I know there are Barix Clinics in Detroit, Ypsilanti... etc that also do Lap Band.

Thanks Peaches; I'll look into Detroit; I have friends there as well, could be helpfull.

With the band, how long does it take to lose weight? Any complications, or difficulties you'd like to share?

thanks.

I live in Northern Ontario and all the clinics are located in either Toronto or Mississauga. I chose Dr. Cobourn at the SWLC and have been happy with everything. He trains doctors and nurses all over the country to do fills for out of town patients. I know he is looking at finding one in North Bay, Sudbury and the Soo. I'm not sure what part of the North you are from but you might want to check his clinic out.

Thanks Peaches; I'll look into Detroit; I have friends there as well, could be helpfull.

With the band, how long does it take to lose weight? Any complications, or difficulties you'd like to share?

thanks.

Hi Giselle;

1st of all if you are Self Pay (which I am sure you are as a Cdn) There is a place in Detroit that does it for $11,000 US.. but the thing is AFTERCARE is very important.

Lapband is NOT a one shot wonder fix. At 6wks post op you go back to the clinic for your 1st fill, then every 2 wks or so you go back for subsequent 'Fills" until you reach a proper level of restriction. Now how quickly you reach restriction is reliant on the size of band that you have installed.. I have read that some U.S. surgeons use a 4cc band while other use the Vanguard 10cc band. The two doctors in Toronto/Mississauga use the 10 cc band. Mine for example is the French Mid-Band and is 10cc's. So my first fill was 5 cc's, then 2cc's, then 1 cc, then .75 cc's and so on.... then I ran into problems.

I have a complication in that my band is leaking saline. Therefore I am not experiencing Restriction. I was up to fill #4, but I suspect that on the last fill the RN nicked the tubing when she was inserting the fill... don't know for sure? but what else could have caused the leak I don't know at this point.

Or the join where the port meets the tubing could be a loose connect???

I will know more on Monday when I go for a Fluro barium xray at the hospital.

All this said, I am still glad that I got the Lapband installed. Its just a tad frustrating that I am not loosing as fast as my other JULY bandsters have at 5 mos. out... but once this is fixed ... I'll be on my W/L way again for sure.

Even with the looseness that I now feel, I only ate ONE plate of Turkey dinner instead of my usual 3..... LOL

Thanks peaches, do you know the name of the facility in detroit? Or I'll just google it?!

Sorry to hear about your complication; hopefully it will get fixed. Let me know how Monday turns out for you. I assume that the fluoro fill shows up on the xray where saline doesn't....? Are they charging you for that, or the repair?

thanks.

giselle

Fousilly:

Thanks for the info; I'm from Marathon...about 4.5hrs west of Sault Ste. Marie, and 3.5hrs east of Thunder Bay.

Wish there was someone closer....

I know where Marathon is and I believe the SWLC has either a doctor or nurse in Thunder Bay now that will do the fills so you don't have to return to Mississauga but you still have to go to Mississauga for the surgery. There is a new clinic opening in Manitoba or it might already be open but not sure who the doc is.

Does anyone know the nurse or doctor who does fill in Thunder Bay; I want to connect with them to make sure I can get fills before I go further with this quest?!

thanks

Giselle,

The doctors and nurses trained by the SWLC can only do fills for their patients. If you are going elsewhere, then they wouldn't be able to do fills for you. They have Thunder Bay listed as a place where they have trained someone so if you want to know the name of the person up there, you'd have to contact the clinic.

Here's their website and they have a place where you can ask them questions.

Toronto Weight Loss Obesity Surgery Lap Band Bariatric Surgeon Gastric Bypass

Good luck in your decision to pick a surgeon.

Thanks peaches, do you know the name of the facility in detroit? Or I'll just google it?!

Sorry to hear about your complication; hopefully it will get fixed. Let me know how Monday turns out for you. I assume that the fluoro fill shows up on the xray where saline doesn't....? Are they charging you for that, or the repair?

thanks.

giselle

Hi Giselle;

At my clinic TLBC it costs $16,000 incl Gst. for the Lapband and any proceedures for life.

At SWLC in Mississauga its $17,000 plus Gst. don't know how long you are covered for subsequent fills and revisions(if necessary)

DrWatkins

Gastric Band Surgeon

Join Date: Dec 2007

Posts: 98

We adjust all bands (including the new Ethicon REALIZE band) at our Chicago clinic in Oak Brook, IL.

You can get their contact info from our website, Synchrony Health :: Home. The surgeon, Dr. Duane Tull, is banded himself. He'd be happy to see you.

Hope that helps

brad

__________________

Gastric Band Surgeon since 2002

Synchrony Health :: Home

I've 'pasted' the link to the Chicago Ill. site, sorry I tried to google the Detroit one but wasn't lucky. In Ypsilanti Michigan there is the BARIX Clinic, they do lapbands on Canadians plus my BF had her Gastric Bypass done there and the team was fantastic.... excellent aftercare too. Dr. Kam was the surgeon that she had.

Affordability

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Weight loss can change your life and significantly improve your health. You may also find that dramatic weight loss can greatly reduce weight-related costs, which on average can be more than $15,000 a year! What better investment could you make in yourself and your future?

Today many health plans cover the LAP-BAND ® or REALIZE BAND ® procedure and most if not all of the costs will be paid for. Each health plan will have certain criteria that need to be met before you can actually have the surgery. Talk to your surgeon about health plans in your area that cover LAP-BAND® or REALIZE BAND ® surgery. In some cases your insurance may not cover the LAP-BAND® or REALIZE BAND ® procedure. This can be in the form of a "Denial" to what is called a Prior Authorization Request.

Following denial or when insurance coverage for the LAP-BAND ® System procedure is not available, there are several alternatives that can be considered as viable payment options. These include lump sum payment and affordable patient financing.

Beginning January 1st of 2008 (for a limited time), we are pleased to be able to offer either the LAP-BAND ® or REALIZE BAND ® procedure at Jewish Hospital, which is a full-service, tertiary care Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence, for $12,500 (this is one of the most affordable prices in the region). This includes surgery, anesthesia, outpatient hospital stay, and 2 years of band adustments and care from Dr. Curry's team. We are grateful to Jewish Hospital for making this price reduction available to our patients!

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