hello! i live in alaska, and i am looking for a center in the west coast to have lap band surgery. i am self-pay, and it cost $23k to have it doen up here. i do not want an in-experienced surgeon though, just to get a cheaper surgery! :drool:

hello! i live in alaska, and i am looking for a center in the west coast to have lap band surgery. i am self-pay, and it cost $23k to have it doen up here. i do not want an in-experienced surgeon though, just to get a cheaper surgery! :drool:

Check out Dr. Kirshenbaum in Denver, CO. He has had several patients from Alaska. His cost is $9950 total. Additional costs are airfare and hotel, of course. His website is in my signature, and if you check out the Doctors forum here on Lap Band Talk, you'll see a thread where all of his band patients (including me!) congregate and chat. Dr. K is a wonderful man!

Just another option in Denver is Dr. Brown: Denver Bariatric Surgery | Colorado Bariatric Surgery Institute $9,900.

I don't think the $50 is a make-or-break...I'm just showing that the prices are similar and it gives you two surgeons to look at and compare in the Denver area.

DFW - Dr. Manuel Castro is $9990. So is TLCEDge in DFW

DFW - Dr. Manuel Castro is $9990. So is TLCEDge in DFW

i'm new to this and have no idea what those letters mean! please explain!:smile2:

i'm new to this and have no idea what those letters mean! please explain!:smile2:

DFW is Dallas Fort Worth which is in Texas. Given that you're in Alaska, I'd say Colorado is a better choice.

And yes, there are several doctors in the Denver area that are now doing lap bands under $10k. But I'm proud to say that Dr. K was the first, lol. Can't blame the other doctors for lowering their prices!

I went to Mexico. Surgeons there are very experienced. They train the US docs in this procedure. Paid $7,500 plus airfare to El Paso, TX where they picked me up. Wonderful care!

I paid $6,500 and went to El Paso and went across the border too. Just because you are flying in and going to Mexico doesnt mean you will not get just as good of care. I wouldnt pay the amount in Alaska when for the price of airfare you can have it done elsewhere.

I went by myself, it wasnt that bad of surgery that you need to have someone with you, like say plastic surgery which will have you indisposed for a while. I actually flew home the next day, a day early.

where do you go for follow up visits?

Dr. Steven Tersigni here in Oregon is 12, 500 and is at a center of excellence. You said West coast, and Oregon is certainly on the West coast.

where do you go for follow up visits?

Im driving 5 hours round trip and dont think that doctor takes enough time on her fills, in and out. She doesnt try to get them as tight as possible, 3 cc too much, she puts in 1.8 cc, as if there is nothing in between she could try.

Iv expressed my unhappiness at the lack of resistance and cancelled my last fill, but decided to go in again, eventually I hope to get to a tighter resistance point. I have rescheduled to go in next Saturday. There is a closer doctor I could go to for $250 cash that probably would be better, but I got annoyed when his receptionist said that I was lucky he would see me at all when I complained that the cost was only $150 if you were banded in the U.S.

You will have a great experience for surgery, and a much cheaper price, you just have to weigh it against the fact that getting fills will cost more and you will be treated like a second class citizen. Prepare yourself for that.

Two sisters were at my fill doctor last time and they had only paid $6,000 each. So there are cheap prices to be had. My surgeon didnt speak much English and just started taking U.S. patients, but is very good. You wouldnt have trouble finding a good surgeon in Mexico, but you might have trouble finding a inexpensive fill center or pay extra. One fill doctor here who has a bad reputation, now is making Mexican patients wait 90 days, he has so many patients, he can do that now. He doesnt use fluoro and had poked holes in a few too many bands for me to use him.

Where you get fills is something you definetely need to check out ahead of time. You might even have to fly somewhere. I was banded July 9th, 10 cc band, and only two measly fills of 1.8 cc each, so you know Im not hardly at any resistance. Im needing some extra will power is why Im making the drive this weekend. Im also losing much slower than most. .... but I am losing and will get there, maybe not as fast as those at tight resistance.

My doctor wants the smallest amount of fill that still gives you restriction and weight loss. He feels that being overfilled causes more problems with pb's, sliming, and other problems. It also can prevent you from eating properly and might cause you to limit yourself to soft or liquid foods. Having said that, I do not know your situation, if you are losing weight, and what problems or successes you are having.

IMO there would be a number in between 3 and 1.8 that if the fill doctor was taking more time with fills she could have found that wouldnt over fill me but would have given me enough restriction to help.

I feel almost no restriction and can eat anything. Im losing because Im dieting, not eating sweets and walking 3.5 miles a day, I was up to 7 miles but had to cut back when my right knee couldnt take it.

You can lose without your band helping at all, and that doesnt prove I dont need a fill, at least to me. I dont feel like my band is helping at all, but yes, Im losing. By your doctor's standards and some other doctors, as long as Im losing fine, I dont need another fill, even if I feel no restriction. I guess I disagree with that way of thinking, why have a band if its not helping. I got down to 150 on Nutrisystem, but didnt hold it. I can diet, thats all Im doing now.

Im one who isnt terribly keen on the lapband at this point since I dont feel its helping. My fill doctor does test with fluor to make sure the barium goes down into your stomach, so a over fill isnt possible with her. I just want some appetite control, which I dont have with my too conservative fills. Im hungry all the time, its sheer willpower losing the weight. When I complain to the fill doctor's husband (he does the appointments) instead of talking about the fact she doesnt fill me enough, he will blame me, saying things like "well you must be over eating and stretched your pouch" instead of acknowledging maybe the fill isnt tight enough. Its never their fault I still cant feel any resistance.

the band isnt all its cracked up to be so far. fills can make or break you.

IMO there would be a number in between 3 and 1.8 that if the fill doctor was taking more time with fills she could have found that wouldnt over fill me but would have given me enough restriction to help.

I feel almost no restriction and can eat anything. Im losing because Im dieting, not eating sweets and walking 3.5 miles a day, I was up to 7 miles but had to cut back when my right knee couldnt take it.

You can lose without your band helping at all, and that doesnt prove I dont need a fill, at least to me. I dont feel like my band is helping at all, but yes, Im losing. By your doctor's standards and some other doctors, as long as Im losing fine, I dont need another fill, even if I feel no restriction. I guess I disagree with that way of thinking, why have a band if its not helping. I got down to 150 on Nutrisystem, but didnt hold it. I can diet, thats all Im doing now.

Im one who isnt terribly keen on the lapband at this point since I dont feel its helping. My fill doctor does test with fluor to make sure the barium goes down into your stomach, so a over fill isnt possible with her. I just want some appetite control, which I dont have with my too conservative fills. Im hungry all the time, its sheer willpower losing the weight. When I complain to the fill doctor's husband (he does the appointments) instead of talking about the fact she doesnt fill me enough, he will blame me, saying things like "well you must be over eating and stretched your pouch" instead of acknowledging maybe the fill isnt tight enough. Its never their fault I still cant feel any resistance.

the band isnt all its cracked up to be so far. fills can make or break you.

This is just my opinion, but if you have that much of a problem with your fill doctor (and based on the paragraphs you've typed about her, I'd say that you do) then I suggest you see the other fill doctor you mentioned - the one that charges $250 for MX patients. I believe you also said it's a closer trip for you. Do that, and get yourself some restriction. Don't just accept the bad fill experiences and talk yourself into hating your lap band. See a different fill doctor, get a different fill experience, and just maybe it will work for you!

This is just my opinion, but if you have that much of a problem with your fill doctor (and based on the paragraphs you've typed about her, I'd say that you do) then I suggest you see the other fill doctor you mentioned - the one that charges $250 for MX patients. I believe you also said it's a closer trip for you. Do that, and get yourself some restriction. Don't just accept the bad fill experiences and talk yourself into hating your lap band. See a different fill doctor, get a different fill experience, and just maybe it will work for you!

I agree completely. You can't say the band doesn't work when not taking advantage of the options available out there to make it work. There's definitely a reason the person you are getting fills from is cheaper from the sound of it. Go to someone more reputable before you start writing off the band.

Have you tried getting a recommendation for another fill doctor from another gastric surgeon? There are national networks that have been set up to service people who just need fills. I suggest you do a search on them and ask for patient recommendations and statistics. You can also follow up with the band brand that was used and get fill docters that way.