Hi, everyone! I'm in South Alabama, not far from Mississippi and in my Quest to find a dr. in this area that not only performs the surgery but that I can afford, I was pointed in the direction of SMSWLC. I sent an email to them and they responded immediately and are sending me some forms to fill out for financing. I was just wondering if anyone knew anything about them. Here is the link:

http://www.smsurgicalweightloss.com/index.html

I think the dr.'s name is Dr. Avara.

Thanks!

Hope

Hope,

Yes I am familiar with South MS Surgical Weight Loss. I can tell you that the staff there is absolutely wonderful!

I got my lap-band on 03/17/05 so I can't share much success with you yet.

I cannot say enough good things about Dr. Avara and his staff! They are excellent to work with and are most helpful.

I also see that you live in South Alabama. I live in Grand Bay, AL.

Let me know if I can answer any questions that you may have.

David

David,

Oh my gosh! I can't believe I've finally found someone around here that has the band! Thank you so much for responding. There are so many questions that I couldn't even begin to ask them all. LOL. But first off, how are you doing?! I hope everything with your band is going well!

I"m really excited about this surgery and hope that I can work things out with them. I want to do this so badly. I'm waiting for the paperwork they sent out, I guess that is step 1. I certainly feel better hearing good things about Dr. Avara. I'd love to talk to you more about it if you ever get the chance.

Thanks!

Hope

Officegirlblues,

Today marks 2 weeks that I have had the band and I am doing great!

I have not had any problems whatsoever. I have lost some weight although I'm not sure how much. I can definitely tell it in my clothes and several people have commented that they can tell I'm losing weight.

I go back for a follow-up visit with Dr. Avara next Thursday.

Will let you know how that goes. My e-mail address is dirj99@mchsi.com if you would like to contact me there.

Good luck!!!

David

HI!

I met with smwlc yesterday and scheduled my surgery for June 9. They were very helpful and friendly. I will have my surgery at the Pascagoula Surgical Center. Feel free to email me directly!

Good luck!

Terri

Terri,

I can only say good things about everyone at SMSWLC. They have been absolutely great to me.

I also had my surgery at the Pascagoula Center and everyone there was just wonderful!!!!!

I had my first band adjustment this past Friday 4/29......

Good Luck!

David

Hi guys. I finally made my appointment with Dr. Avara. I go next Friday! I'm excited but also a little aprehensive. I don't want to get too excited b/c I know that it has been impossible so far to get BCBS of AL to cover this procedure. I'm so excited to see the great responses regarding his group, though. Gives me a good feeling, that's for sure! I'll let you guys know how it goes!

Oh my gosh, Hope, there you are! I haven't seen you post in a while and I'm glad to see you checking back in. Keep filling us in on how it's going! There are tons of us who have gone and come back banded since you last posted at the end of March. Check out the April 2005 Bandsters list! And May is half over, too!

So glad to see you. Don't stay gone so long!!!

Thanks Kathy! No, I haven't checked in for a while. I will have to check out that thread and see how everyone is doing. I have to admit, though, that although I am so happy for those of you that have had the band, it's a little discouraging to be on the other side of that coin. I tried dieting on my own since the last time I was on and actually lost about 15 lbs. which I thought was great, but then I went on a trip and gained it all back. So, that kind of had me bummed. BUT, I'm going to Dr. Alvara and I'm going to do SOMETHING! I'm hoping that maybe they will help fight the claim when it is denied. I guess we'll see. Oh, and I saw a note posted on another site that BCBS of GA (and a few others) are now covering the band! Apparently was just announced today or earlier this week... I'm praying that Alabama will follow suit. That would just solve all my problems! Anyway, thanks for the hello and I promise I will stay in touch.

Great to be visiting with all you Bandlanders again!

Hope

Hi. I was wondering if anyone could tell me about how much the Lap Band surgery cost? Who do you recommend? I am trying to find out information about the surgery, but I haven't been able to get anyone to call me back. I did find the information about SNSWLC that Hope posted. Thanks. I just sent them an email, so maybe someone will call or send the info that I requested.

Thanks,

Angela

Hey, Angela! I'm positive you'll hear back from Dr. Avara's group. I had a response within 24 hours. Lisa is great and even faxed me the info so I could have it ready for my appointment this Friday. I haven't met any of them yet, but they have been great so far.

As far as pricing goes, I think the cost there is between $13,500 and $15,000. Dr. Caylor in Foley, AL is around $18,000. There is also a Dr. in Birmingham that is around $13,000. All of those are for Outpatient and the prices kind of vary... At the moment, my insurance doesn't cover the band so I'm kind of shopping around. Oh, and Dr. Avara's office has a financing group that they use, they will give you the application for it if you want them to. I don't know what kind of insurance you have, you might be one of the lucky few that will have it covered! I know some of the other groups that I've talked to didn't really offer a lot of help. But, ultimately, I'm hoping that Dr. Avara's office will help fight the insurance if they deny the claim.

Anyway, enough about my saga... good luck and I hope you get all the information you need. Let me know how it goes!

Hope