Hi everyone. I am a U.S. Citizen married to a U.S. Army soldier and we are stationed in Germany. I am wanting to have the Lap Band procedure done, but need to find the cheapest place to do it, but still receive quality care. I have heard about places in Mexico and figure that may be my best bet since I am paying out of pocket for the procedure. If any of you have any advice or knowledge of where to go, I would be appreciative. I'm looking forward to learning all about the procedure and making new friends on this board.

While you CAN find "Cheap" and "Quality", you need to be careful whenever cheap is involved. If you go to Mexico, you'll need to research before getting banded on where you will get after care for possible emergencies and for your band fills.

Some Dr's do not want to give fills to another Dr's patient, so find this out in advance.

There is a lot of info on Mexican Dr's on the forum. Try looking under the Doctors and Hospital section. There is also a Dr. in Colorado ( Kirschenbaum) that has reasonable rates.

If you are in Germany, there is also a Dr. in Belgium (I think he's in Brugge), you might find some info on him on the forum.

Good Luck

Hi and welcome to LBT!

I was just curious, where are you at over in Germany? My son is also in the army and is currently stationed there as well. His wife and son are there with him. They are in Baumholder , Rheinland-Pfalz

Germany.

I'm an American living in Berlin, and I'm about to have my surgery on April 30. I'm paying for it myself, and it's about 5800 Euros. Dr. Harnoss at the Martin Luther hospital is doing it. He doesn't have as much experience as some of the Mexican doctors, but I feel much more confident knowing that I can go back to him easily if there are any problems.

There is a very experienced doctor in Gemany (in Munich, I think), Dr. Wiener or Weiner, can't remember which. I have no idea what he charges, though.

Good luck!

I am also an American living in Germany - Stuttgart area. I was banded here in July and it was 7500 Euros. There are a couple of places near here that do the band. Write me if you're interested in more details. I'll be glad to help.

Have you considered using Tricare - the insurance you have through your husband? They do cover the lap band if you meet the weight and BMI requirement. They may also have preferred providers there in Germany that will assure you get good care.

Mary in Las Vegas

Thank you ladies for responding. I scheduled an appointment with my health clinic and he submitted the paperwork for the band to tricare. so now I am waiting to see if tricare will pay for me to go to have a consult with a Dr. here. I'll let you know what I find out! Again, thanks for your help!

so here we are almost 6 months later and I found out yesterday that Tricare approved the procedure! I don't know how the process will work from here, but I am very excited. Thanks ladies for your help.