I'm just barely starting to explore, but I also KNOW I want to do this. I'm the kind of person who mulls things over in the back of my mind for ages, and once I hit the research stage, it's because I've already pretty much decided.

And I feel like this is the hardest part. Who do I trust such a major surgery, with such lifelong maintenance, to? Also, do I go with some place local that is on my insurance? Or do I consider Mexico and self pay?

I would love to know how others figured who exactly to entrust this major surgery to.

Thank you!

the place my insurance company covers has a decent reputation, so I just went there.

Good question. I was lucky that in my area there are many Bariatrci surgeons but I first focused on "Bariatric Centers" that are part of a major hospital. So I researched the surgeons in each program, what each center included, then reviews including messaging people on this forum that had experience with that particular center.

In "surgeons", I researched each one's credentials, experience, fellowships, memberships in professional organizations/aasociations, and any writing they might have authored.

It was important to me to find an all-incusive "center". One where they have in-house dieticians and professionals to take care of all of the pre-reqs. I selected the top two from my list and attended their free seminars. I then chose the one that I felt more comfortable with. My center actually assigned a "Navigator" to schedule all of my pre-req appointents (Pysch eval, Sleep exam, blood work, etc). This not only made it easy for me, but from my first doctor visit to surgery was less than 2 months.

Third, reviews and advice. Not from google which tend to rely on complaints, but I reached out on this forum and several outstanding people discussed their experiences with one of those 2 centers, their surgeon, and process. I greatly appreciate the honesty those folks passed on.

Good luck on your search and you are right in researching this very important surgery. You are on the right track!

The situation is a little different in Australia. No insurance restrictions or approvals needed. As long as you’re covered by your policy & your free to choose any surgeon you want.

I agree. Personal experience referrals are a great place to begin. I spoke to a friend who’d had the surgery about a year previously. She highly recommended her surgeon. When I met with my GP to ask her advice & get a referral she said she knew of the surgeon & thought I’d be happy with him too. I was. Felt very comfortable at my first meeting so proceeded. My surgeon had several dieticians & therapists he referred his patients too. He recommended one dietician he thought I’d work well with & also a therapist (though my surgeon said therapy wasn’t a requirement for me unless I wanted or needed).

Thanks for the answers so far! Old Salt, I really liked your point about considering the center as a whole, not just the surgeon, and how comprehensive the care is. That was a helpful place for me to start researching from, and I will likely attend the seminars for my top choices to see what feel I get for them.

45 minutes ago, chellemabelle76 said:

Thanks for the answers so far! Old Salt, I really liked your point about considering the center as a whole, not just the surgeon, and how comprehensive the care is. That was a helpful place for me to start researching from, and I will likely attend the seminars for my top choices to see what feel I get for them.

that's actually true - you're only going to see the surgeon a couple of times, most likely - once while you're in the OR and knocked out! You'll be dealing a lot more with the PAs or NPs, nurses, dietitians, and psychologists at the clinic than you will with the surgeon.

34 minutes ago, catwoman7 said:

that's actually true - you're only going to see the surgeon a couple of times, most likely - once while you're in the OR and knocked out! You'll be dealing a lot more with the PAs or NPs, nurses, dietitians, and psychologists at the clinic than you will with the surgeon.

Exactly! Their surgical track record is super important, but feeling supported by/having a good rapport with everyone else is probably more important than having the warm fuzzies about my surgeon. In an ideal world, of course, I'd have all of the above! But if I have a world class surgeon who maybe isn't the most personable, but the nurses, dieticians, etc are very kind, empathetic, etc, that would still work.