Hello,

I am Tony, a 6'2" 435 ish guy looking for info. I have been researching lap banding for several weeks and have come to love the info shared here so I thought I would take a jump and finally ask some questions.

Being a person with a high BMI- will this procedure have any additional problems that I might face being a higher weight then the averages I have seen here ?

Also as a person with lousy health ins. I am self pay (currently real close to having the $$$) so obviously Mexico is what I am researching the most now. However does anyone know of cheaper USA surgery for self pay?

Also as I see several are from Mexico here already--What would the cheapest doctors and hospitals be without compromising good care in Mexico? Phone numbers and any referalls would be much appreciated. My email is able to be viewed in my profile if need be. Some of the info I read about experiences seemed to leave me confused as the posts were later updated with less then good notes so by starting new here I can have some more time that has passed with these comments then the previous "older" ones. I would appreciate the "good" ones and the "bad" ones as well.

Things I already know from research--try to go direct to the doctor for the best price. Be sure to find a local fill doctor that accepts mexican fill doctors prior to anything happening. Be sure to use the Inamed brand for best doctor availability in USA. Any other tidbits to remember?

Thanks,

Tony

Welcome Tony! You and I are in the same boat; self-pay, researching Mexico. I'll be glad to share what I know but you've got the basics down. Something I've been running into is facilities...do they have an ICU, in a regular hospital, etc, or is it an outpatient clinic type place where they are not necessarily prepared to deal with surgery related emergencies...hmmm, that's a research hurdle to jump. Let's definately stay in touch and keep the other informed. Also, there is a post in here somewhere (Support) very recent and I can't remember who posted it, it's titled, "Newsweek atricle about a Boy and the Band" or something to that effect...read that thread, the guy at the end of the story, Mike, not the boy, is married to someone on the board and he has lost a LOT of weight...you'll get some good info there about your own weight loss, maybe some links,too.

Good to have you!

You bring up a good point---whether the facility has an ICU or is more of an out-patient type set-up. At this point I am not sure if I want a facility without some emergency type staff should an emergency arise. While I am a heavy person--many would only guess me at a weight of mid 350's as I have a very large frame and thick bones. However my size does make me worry a touch more about the surgery and complications and the need for maybe additional reassurances at a hospital with an emergency type room.

What are others thoughts on the matter?

Hi Tony,

Nice to meet you. I am a 30 year old, 5'2" female weighing 362 lbs when I got my band in Mexico. I was and am very happy with my surgery and my current progress. I liked my surgeon overall but he has also been subject to lots of issues regarding erosion and communications problems. I don't know if I would really refer people to him or not. His price is typically $7k-$8k and the hospital I had mine done in did have an ICU. The facility was called Oasis of Hope hospital. I found many of the hospitals down there have websites with pictures of their facilities. If I were to do it all over again I would have gone with Dr. Kuri but I know there are several other very good surgeons too. There are a few other Kuri patients on this forum so hopefully one of them will see this and get back to you. My surgeon was Dr. Lopez Corvalla. Best of luck to you, Teresa

Perhaps you can get some US surgeon's prices if we know where you're located. My dr. is 14,500 for cash-pay patient in Houston, TX

Tony,

Regarding your weight and high BMI, an experienced proctored lapband surgeon should be able to band someone your size with no issues other than using longer trocars. It might be advisable for you to try to go on a liquid diet a few days before banding to help shrink your liver. My doc here in Texas has banded patients close to 600 pounds laparoscopically.

There are many docs doing banding in Mexico. I was banded in the US, but considered Dr. Rumbaut in Monterrey. He was very kind to me and even gave me his cell phone number while he was on vacation with his family so I could call him personally to ask questions. Many people like Dr. Kuri in Tijuana. I think Rumbaut charges 10K and Kuri around the same. I know that Dr. Cirangle in CA charges 12K ish and here in Dallas you could be banded for about 13K-15K including some fills/adjustments.

I started out at a BMI of 53.9 and a weight of 334 at 5' 6". My biggest concern was that my stomach might be too fat to do the surgery laparoscopically. i addressed my concerns with the surgeon, who thought I was nuts. Dr. C (my surgeon) said that he had banded folks much bigger than me laparoscopically. He said I am a lap surgeon and if I cant do it lap, then I wont do an open procedure. he gave me his word and that was good enough for me.

My point is that you should find someone you are comfortable with and not look at the difference of one or two thousand dollars. Good luck and if you have any other questions, feel free to ask away.

Babs in TX

334/185/170

-149

6/23/03

Tony,

Just for USA Dr selp pay price info; My Dr is $14,000 for self pay and he does his out of St Johns Hospital Detroit Mich.

Good luck T

Thanks for the info so far. I am in North Eastern Indiana near Fort Wayne. I am willing to travel for the surgery, so it is not a major problem where the hospital is located. There are some newer doctors out of Elkart (town real close to me) at what appears to be a bariatric treatment center, recommended from Inamed, so I am also trying to call them and get some info, but I am concerned that they are relatively new at the procedure-running the risk of a poor procedure due to lack of experience-will now more after I talk with them.

Tony

Yippee!...getiing lots of info for me ,too! Keep it coming folks! and keep us posted, Tony!

Welcome! There is a lot of information on these boards. If you go to the search button, you can do some searches for what you are interested in. Read all the old posts too, there is a lot of valuable information in them!

Tony, don't make the same mistake I did! I went with a dr new to lapband (although he was a laproscopic specialist) and now I am dealing with much frustration of feeling like a lab rat while he gets the aftercare stuff right, not to mention extra expense. I have to say, though, that he did the surgery beautifully.

Try looking for a very experience dr. for both your surgery and your aftercare.

Okay Tony, the patient rep for Dr Kuri in TJ MX (very experienced- over 1200 Bands, I think) referred me to a local Dr about 30 miles from home that could do my fills for 200 bucks. Great! I don't have to spend 300+ on airfare to go back to TJ for fills, and should I need any other aftercare (possible problems that can't be resolved over the phone and where I need to be seen quickly- although I can't imagine what unless it's just a worse case scenario) I can go see this local Dr, even if I have to pay out the wazoo. So I call this local Dr. Bauman at Carolina Weight Loss Surgery in Concord NC and sure enough, he will do the fills for 200...BUT, he's considering not doing fills for other doctors, including Mexico, or should I say, especially Mexico, doctors and so I may not have a local fill dr. after all. The gal at that office mentioned that he and his office mgr went to Mexico somewhere for a weekend seminar for Lap Bands and he just hadn't decided yet how to handle it. I'm sure he's crunching numbers and considering all the liabilities. To top it off, he does the fills at the nearby hospital at lunchtime and the hospital charges an additional $195. Heck, I could fly to TJ and back in a day for less than that! Dr. Kuri's fee includes his fills, you just have to pay $50 for the flouro. So that's $45 less...anyhooo...thought you might like that info. Happy researching!

Hey Blossom, I would PM you but this might help Tony, too. What do your mean by aftercare, just what is involved/required/expected by the doctor and you for what is called "aftercare". I know fills, I know diet and nutrition. My husband asked this and all I could say was, well...you know...aftercare...because I have researched so much and my head is full...a concise answer for him is what I need and I think you may have it. Pleeeze! Look out, Tony! Thanks Blossom and anyone else for that matter!

I'm impressed with all the homework you've already done. Good job! Meanwhile, there's a recent thread here that discusses the different prices you'll pay in Mexico. I asked my surgeon why the rates vary so much, and he told me the price is largely based on which facility you chose. There are many different surgical centers and hospitals to choose from. But the most important thing for a guy like you that has a high BMI, is to make sure the facility you choose has an ICU. The difference in LabBand prices will vary by thousands of dollars - the same surgeon will charge one patient thousands less (or more) depending where they do the surgery.

I learned that anyone with a high BMI shoud make sure the facility they chose has an ICU unit. The higher the BMI, the bigger possiblity of complications. I just found out that two of the very popular Mexican surgeons, who both work in very nice and new facilities, do not have Intensive Care Units in their surgical centers.

Good luck to you. Make good choices and you'll be very happy with your Band.

If you have the surgery you may have to change your name to just T.

I was also about your size. You may want to look at our web site it has alot of info on our doctor in Mexico. Dr Sanchez get an A+ from my wife and I.

Hey BigT!!! Welcome to the best website/forum in the whole world!!! You couldn't have picked a better place to research!!! How did you hear about it?

Good Luck with your research....can;t help with Mexico but glad to help with what I can!

Nancy*