Okay I am new to the whole process of getting approved, and am not sure I understand the steps. I went to my PCM and requested the lapband. He asked me about my attempts to lose weight and if I had anything medically wrong other than my weight. I told him I was borderline for pcos, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. He asked if I'd seen the dietician recently. I told him I'd seen her several times in the past couple of years but she wasn't very helpful beyond giving me printouts. He typed something in the computer and looked at some stuff and then said he thought it was a 'brilliant' idea and would submit the paperwork. It had to go somewhere else beyond him in our local hospital for approval. I called and was told that our local mtf approved it and was sending it on to tricare. I've called tricare and am still waiting @@ (it's not been long i'm just impatient lol) BUT once they approve me are they approving my consult or the surgery? Do I have to wait for an additional tricare approval? I'm confused....help....lol

What i was told by my PCM and my surgeon was that once tricare gives the approval to see them that tricare has approved the surgery. I was scared that it was only a approval to see the surgeon and i'd have to get another approval to get the surgery, but nope! Once you get that approval your all the way approved!!

Mine was the other way around....I got approved only for the consult, after the consult the surgeon's office sent in the info to Tricare to get approval for the surgery.