I am hoping to have the lap band put on in early June. I will be self-pay, so I would like to have the surgery done in Colorado by Dr. Kirshenbaum. I am a teacher so I'll have a month and a half or so to recuperate, but once school is back in session I can't afford to miss much. So here are my questions:

1. If I travel from Texas to Colorado and have the "outpatient" surgery, how long should I expect to be in Colorado?

2. How long after the surgery is the first post-op checkup?

3. When I go in for fills is it necessary for me to be there for more than one day? I'm thinking fly in that morning, get filled, and fly home that evening. Is this realistic?

Thanks!

There's a thread with Dr. K patients on the Doctors board where you can get some good information.

I understand his fee includes three months of free fills. I considered him but was faced with the same situation as you as far as traveling for fills. My fills at my local doctor take just a few minutes. However, my biggest concern would be flying back home and then finding out that I needed an unfill.

You might consider finding a local doctor to do the fills.

I went from DFW to Monterrey on Friday morning -had the surgery friday afternoon and came home on monday. could have come home on sunday without any problems. Believe it or not--it was a shorter flight(and cheaper) to go from dfw to mont, than dfw to denver!

I just had my first fill(my doc includes 2 years-with flouro) and flew in and out the same day. Used miles to get the ticket-so it was freebie!

Travelling for the surgery is fine, but travelling for the fills is a different story! What is going to happen if you get a fill, fly home, and find out you are so tight you can't swallow your spit? I have had to have 2 emergency unfills and my doc commutes to my area to do fills. So the 2 emergency unfills I had to have, I had to drive 350 miles round trip to get unfilled. It was not fun. If you will have to fly to get the fills, you will be looking at possibly having to fly back to get an unfill. If I were you, I'd check for a local fill doctor, maybe a fill center usa in your area. I have also heard that flying can make the band tighter, so you may get home from a fill and find out you are really tight, they fly back to get an unfil, then get home and a week later find out you are too loose. I personally think that it is a bad idea. But if you are up for it and think you could handle it, go for it. Just to let you know though, alot of emergency rooms don't know the ins and outs of the band and if you had to go to the emergency room to get an unfill, not only will it cost you mega $ it will possibly be an issue of you edgucating the staff on the lapband, and then they will probably have to find an oncologist on duty to access the port. It won't be fun.

I do think each person has to decide for themselves what is best for them. I had no problems. My doc does all fills under flouro--laying down, standing up--swallow barium, then drink a whole glass of water. I knew when I left there I was in good shape. By doing it that way, he is more aggressive with fills--because he can see it--and so therefore I don't have to go as often and don't have to sneak up on restriction.