I see these two huge threads on Dr. Kirchenbaum, so I'm guessing lots of you have been banded in Denver. I live in rural Kansas, three hours away from Denver, so that is where I'll be having my surgery.

The surgeon I'm looking into right now is Dr. Dave Meliniczek. I have an initial visit with him this week. He flies out to my rural town every few months, so I could potentially do some follow up here. Not enough reason to choose him for the surgery, but it would be a nice benefit.

Dr. Melniczek is fairly young and new to the business, so that is a concern to me. I'm wondering if anyone here has been banded by him and what your experiences have been.

If I was self-pay I would surely look into Dr. Kirschbaum. I've got great insurance that will cover 90% of the surgery, so I'm not super concerned. Although, 10% is still going to be a pretty penny when we're talking tens of thousands for the surgery.

Other than Kirschbaum and Melniczek, what other options are there in Denver for LapBand?

I have just received authorization from my insurance company, and I will be having Dr. Michael Snyder do my surgery in Denver. He is at the Denver Bariatric Center! www.denverbariatrics.com best wishes to you in your decision.

kp

I see these two huge threads on Dr. Kirchenbaum, so I'm guessing lots of you have been banded in Denver. I live in rural Kansas, three hours away from Denver, so that is where I'll be having my surgery.

The surgeon I'm looking into right now is Dr. Dave Meliniczek. I have an initial visit with him this week. He flies out to my rural town every few months, so I could potentially do some follow up here. Not enough reason to choose him for the surgery, but it would be a nice benefit.

Dr. Melniczek is fairly young and new to the business, so that is a concern to me. I'm wondering if anyone here has been banded by him and what your experiences have been.

If I was self-pay I would surely look into Dr. Kirschbaum. I've got great insurance that will cover 90% of the surgery, so I'm not super concerned. Although, 10% is still going to be a pretty penny when we're talking tens of thousands for the surgery.

Other than Kirschbaum and Melniczek, what other options are there in Denver for LapBand?

I'm going with Dr. Kirshenbaum because I'm self-pay. Where does Dr. Melniczek do his surgery? I have never heard of him before, but I'm fairly new to the Denver area.

Good Luck!! I have heard really good things with Dr. Tillquist and Dr. Snyder and Chae. They are all in the Denver area.

Dr. Melniczek uses the Lakewood Surgery Center. He's part of Associated Surgeons.

I had Dr Brown at Colorado Bariatric Surgery Institute, Lap Band, Weight-Loss Surgery . He was excellent and I love all of his staff. His receptionist can be a little off-putting (a little short on the phone). But the social worker is great - I've emailed her. I was a self-pay so I ended up at Lowry Surgical Center. They were really great with the follow up. They called me the next day and I didn't answer, so they left a message. I called them back, let them know I was okay. Then they called me again on Monday to check on me again and they sent me a card from the staff wishing me well. LOL Somebody back in March was saying that she got no follow-up from Dr Brown's office...I would guess she probably had her surgery at P/SL. I have no idea if they have improved on follow-up for people at P/SL.

But my experience as a self-pay was great.

Hi everyone! I am Shinyhappymommy's husband. Happy and ready to support her through this Lab Band surgery journey.

Are there any other husbands of Lab Band patients out there in this forum?

We are heading in for her initial consultation in just a few days. Wish us luck!

Well, I met with Dr. Melniczek yesterday. I was quite impressed. I am planning on going with him for my surgery. He is actually very new to doing lap-bands. He worked with the doctor who did Carnie Wilson's gastric bypass for years and has lots of experience in laproscopic bypass. He said the Lap-band surgery is so much simpler from a surgeon's perspective than the gastric bypass. Anyway, after much thought and prayer, my husband and I feel comfortable going with him.

One major bonus with him is that his price is cheap at only $10,000. He also says that his follow up care is second to none. He even gave me his cellphone number. So if you're looking for more personal care in a lower volume facility, he might be it.

Another thing that is good for me is that he flies out to my small rural community about once a month so I won't need to drive three hours to get my fills, he'll come to me.

One other thing I liked is that the nutritionist and the psychiatrist came to his office to meet with me, so we were actually in the same conference room for all three appointments, one right after the other.

Sounds like you are definitely on your way!!! Good luck to you!

KP

Thanks! How is your progress coming?

Thanks! How is your progress coming?

I have everything finally in place except for a test this Thursday (thallium stress test) I have insurance approval, so after Thursday all I will need is a date if of course the stress test is ok and the cartiologist didn't think there would be a problem!!!!! So hopefully I will be on my way to Denver to see Dr. Snyder very soon!!

Ooh, how exciting! How long did your insurance approval take to come through? My surgeon's office said they were hoping we could get it approved by the end of the year. That would be awesome!

Ooh, how exciting! How long did your insurance approval take to come through? My surgeon's office said they were hoping we could get it approved by the end of the year. That would be awesome!

Dolly @ Dr. Snyders office said the insurance company had 30 days to reply ( i have United Healthcare) they took the full 30 days.

kp

Hiya!! Thougt I would give you a quick update! My husband and I are in Denver now....pre-op today and surgery friday @ 6 PM...ooooooooooo I have been on a clear liquid diet since yesterday and its not too bad! We came to Denver last night because of the snow, I didn't want to have to cancel because of snow!!

How awesome! The snow is just getting heavy here. We're supposed to get 7+ inches, so it'll be interesting. I hope all goes very well with your surgery and recovery. I can't wait to hear how it goes.

I am not impressed with Dr. Brown's practice at all. He's fine, and the surgery was a success, and that's the most important thing, but there was no followup call to see how I was doing, and you don't see him at all after the surgery for the one or two followup visits. His office support staff are cold, unfriendly and disorganized. Don't leave a message, it won't get returned, and if you want a fill, be prepared to wait more than a month. I was a self-pay who shelled out $15,000 and I believe I was overcharged and underserviced.

The bottom line is: It's surgery -- even if is elective, and you should get receive care than this.

I don't recommend Dr. Brown in Denver.:cool: