I went for the free Lapband info night last night at LVH in Allentown. I knew I was in trouble when I entered the room and there was 50 plus people there! This was only an 1 and half hour event. The surgeon spoke who I thought to be lacking of any personality and was very brief on his explanations on this surgery! There was not enough time to answer all the questions, but he ended on time abrubtly, only to turn the floor over to the WL center manager. Who was morbidly obese and was preaching to us! It was weird. The topper is the requirements of even being condsidered for the surgery is a 6 month bunch of dr visits etc. I already have begun my 6 month of medically surpervised wl visits with my own pcp. They make you see their psychologists, there Bariatrician there nutrionist and there internist all the while billing and taking copays from you. Then they requre a 450. program fee due up front. They don't even call your insurance company to do a benefit verification! They ask you the layperson to get that info. So basically if you call your insurance company and you get the info wrong and you join the program and finish you very well may not even qualify. So you are out 450 and no surgery. They do not even promote losing much weight if any before surgery! I was very disappointed with this set up. I want a group focused on my well being and health and not soo much on my money! Many of us left very upset. Thanks for listening Tamara

Hi Tamara, you aren't the first person who has expressed dissatisfaction with the way things are handled al LVH. I too live in Allentown and in fact work in a hospital (not LV, although I have worked there before). I initially looked into the program at LV and then down at Temple in Philly. Temple has a $600 non-refundable program fee with the same stipulations that you mentioned from LV.

After reading these boards I decided to call South Jersey Bariatrics, called on Monday had an appointment Friday with the surgeon, Dr. Ing. Appointment was at 11:00 and I was taken on time. At Temple I sat there for 90 minutes with no apology or explanation of why my time wasn't considered as valuable as theirs.

SJB's coordinator, Tina, couldn't have been nicer on the phone and the office staff seems cool. They also require you to go through all of the pre-op testing, (think everyone does) but I just felt much more comfortable with the whole set up. I don't feel like a number. Their program fee is $250 which covers the two weeks of pre-op food.

It takes about an hour and fifteen minutes to get there but my comfort level is worth the drive. The other plus is that they do the surgery as an outpatient so I can be home the same day. Temple makes u stay overnite.

Sorry for going on and on but I guess what I'm trying to say is that Lehigh Valley isn't the only player in the game (although that's what they want you to think) Can you tell I don't like that hospital...lol Do some research, read the boards, try to find a doctor that will value your business and that you feel comfortable with.

Also check out www.mehtabariatriccenter.com They're in central NJ and Dr. Mehta is amazing. He has monthly support groups and seminars too. The next one is the 4th of December. His office staff is wonderful and very attentive. You'll get an appointment very easily. One of his surgery requirements is to attend his seminar and support group at least once prior to surgery. You can have your PCP supervise your 6 month pre-surgery period with him. I had an initial consultation with Dr. Mehta and then my pre-surgery consultation with him as well. He's an amazing surgeon, and I continue to use him for aftercare. He's well worth the one hour drive it takes for me to get there.

oh jeez. i'm sceduled to go to my free info session thing on jan. 3 at LVH. now i'm getting nervous. the problem is the only md i can find the insurance works with is the LVH guy (his name escapes me). stupid insurance. should i call my insurance company now to make sure i get coverage for this stuff? also, if i start a weight loss program with my pcp, can i get like a note from her for the LVH people?

I would wait and go to your free seminar and ask all your questions then! I did call my insurance company first and find out if WLS was a covered benefit, but all the other visits that they require I am sure I would have a co-insurance and or a copay. They require the notes from you pcp if you have already started your 6 month supervised weight loss, they have to "check it and make sure it has the correct info in it". Good luck and I hope you fair better than I did! Tamara

thanks. yeah, maybe people will voice concerns and they'll change some things before i get there. probably not but i can dream:p