Well so far iv had to get my family doc to put a referral in and that was approved. So i meet with the surgeon on Thursday. I was wondering if i have to get an approval from the surgeon himself or is it already approved and im just doing the appointments now. Also how fast are they with all the pre op stuff?? i mean am i looking at a few months before i even have the surgery or is it possible to get it and have all the stuff done in 4 to 6 weeks? thank you for the info.

I first met with my surgeon in July and had my lapband done on sept 9th. After I met with my surgeon they told me Tricare requires an evaluation from phyc and nutrition....Good Luck!

The whole process for me took maybe a month counting the time I had to go to my PCM to get referrel then docters offfice contacted the nutritionalist who did phone interview then got aprroval a week later for the surgery got my surgery Aug. 3rd the only money I was out was the $25 ambulatory surgery cost also got doc. to keep me in hospital for one night because my hubby is currently in Iraq and it felt good knowing I had IV and the nurse there if needed if any more questions feel free to ask away

Your first referral is just to see the physician. Once they determine if you are qualified then they will submit an authorization for surgery. Make sure they input all information on the referral i.e. your wrist size to determine your body frame. I was denied b/c they considered me to be medium frame when I was actually small. I had to appeal and it was then approved in about 3 dys.:thumbup: