Donna

Yep Jane that is a little far but we have bandsters from our clinic in Elliot Lake, Haileybury, etc. so you may want to connect with some of them in the future for extra support. Take care,

Congrats Jane on your upcoming surgery at The Surgical Weight Loss Centre in Mississauga. If you haven't already be sure to join their messageboard and chatroom that can be accessed at Toronto Weight Loss Obesity Surgery Lap Band Bariatric Surgeon Gastric Bypass and then by clicking on the Patient Support Forum and registering. If you live anywhere within driving distance of Mississauga you are more than welcome to join the new lapband support group I have started for clients of the Surgical Weight Loss Centre held monthly at a location in Mississauga. It is available once you have booked a surgery date for your banding. For more info regarding it pleases check out my announcement regarding it on their messageboard site.

Hey Doddie I will see if I can pull up that article on the internet. I have a subscription for my mom in Gibsons for the Van. Sun so if I can't I will ask her to mail me it. Yes support groups in person are great that is why I started one for patients of my clinic in Mississauga. I even attend one in another city near here for all weight loss surgery people. In fact that is where I met my RNY buddy who is now my best friend.

My understanding is that a gastric bypass patient who is young lady will also be on it. She posted on ObesityHelp that she taped the show last week. The producers contacted her as she has a blog or something and has been on other shows. Most of the others think it will be a negative show though as she has been dealing with eating disorders she mentions, so we shall see.

Doddie I'm glad you are able to have a doctor do your fills now. Have you been to the support group in North Van.? My friend Barb from the sunshine coast has attended once or twice when her work schedule permits.

Yes Doddie fous hit the nail on the head. I said if the surgeons were equally competent in all other areas such as skill, competence, reputation, experience THEN personality would tip the scales for me. I definitely agree with you about checking out all doctors on the College of Physicians site. I wish I had 21 years ago but I was 26 and naive.

If when comparing surgeons everything come up even I say personality does matter in my opinion. This is my second wls and I needed to have confidence that my surgeon would be not only extremely competent but his personality would allow him to take my concerns seriously and he was approachable. I find too many darn doctors are arrogant and condescending and I was damned if I would pay $16000 and not have a surgeon who had excellent people skills. My surgeon 21 yrs. ago was considered the best surgeon for weight loss and highly skilled. Turns out he was also under a psychiatrists care for stress, fantasizing about patients and had previous nervous breakdowns. Oh and it came out he had a previous sex charge he had plead guilty to before I had met him. All his surgery skill didn't mean a rat's ass when his license was later suspended for 5 years for sexual abuse with his patients. There went my aftercare for that surgery and when I talked to him about my medical file and where I could get a copy he was still as arrogant as before even after being found guilty. Sorry if I went off on a tangent but as you can tell this still really bugs my butt. Oh did I mention that this guy has been the editor of a prestigious bariatric journal for years?

Fous you are definitely memorable! :biggrin: Yeah Dr. Cobourn thinks the world of you for sure!

Sounds like you need more fills till you reach good restriction and contact your clinic for their advice that's what they are there for.

That's why I love Dr. Cobourn, he is an excellent surgeon and unlike most of my past surgeons (I have had 9 other surgeries over the years) he has an excellent personality and takes the time to answer all your concerns and is not arrogant. I also remember meeting Dr. Yau at the Bandster Bash last May and was impressed when he spoke during the roundtable doctor chats. He is an eloquent speaker for sure!

My thoughts exactly!

Most of the people who go to the US for wls are the ones who are covered by OHIP for RNY or DS. They don't want the long wait for surgery here. Since most bandsters are self pay in Canada makes more sense to be banded in Canada especially for aftercare. That being said, some do go out of country if they can get banded a lot cheaper but I prefer here. Are you banded Petey?

Yes the Credit Valley clinic is in Mississauga, but they have not much support for aftercare and out of all the bandsters I have met or spoken to, never heard of anyone who has gone there. The SWLC Toronto Weight Loss Obesity Surgery Lap Band Bariatric Surgeon Gastric Bypass is also in Mississauga near Trillium Health Centre and is well known with great reputation.

Hi Sno, I am a patient of the SWLC and have been banded almost 2 years and am below goal. Both clinics are great but of course I am partial to mine and living in Brampton the clinic is very handy to me. Where abouts do you live? Also the SWLC has a lot of trained doctors and nurses across country that are set up to do your fills which is also a big bonus. You may want to consider free consultations with both clinics in person if you are close or phone consultations if not.

I am starting a new Peer Support Group for lapband patients of the Surgical Weight Loss Centre. Meetings will be held monthly on the third Thursday of the month from 7 - 10 pm at a Community Centre in central Mississauga. Dr. Cobourn on behalf of the Surgical Weight Loss Centre has graciously offered to sponsor us and the clinic will also provide guest speakers for us when requested. Anyone within driving distance who is a patient at the clinc is welcome to attend. This group will be run for bandsters by bandsters. For more information on this new group please go to the Surgical Weight Loss Centre website , click on the Patient Support Forum and go to the General Weight Loss Discussion section where I have posted an announcement with details about the Peer Support Group. In order to plan accordingly, please email me if you plan to attend each month and also leave your contact information in the unlikely case of group cancellation due to weather. Even if you can only attend ocassionally we would love to see you!

Just wanted to report that our first support meeting was a success with 16 in attendance with some coming as far away as Elliot Lake (here on business trip), Barrie, Kitchener and Thornhill and of course those of us who live in the Peel and Halton regions. Looking forward to the one in February!

I just wanted to add that the majority of my weight regain was during my pregnancy with my daughter while being on bedrest since 4 months pregnant. Then slowly went further up as a stay at home mom over the next few years. I hated having the regain but gaining a daughter (my one and only child) made regaining the fat worth it.

The Surgical Weight Loss Centre offers lifetime aftercare and five years for fills. As fousilly pointed out after five years being charged roughly $50 for a fill is nothing since once you are at goal you hardly ever need fills. I care more about the surgeon and aftercare that is provided. I also like the SWLC as it is near the QEW and I don't have to go downtown Toronto in all that traffic.

Personally people choose whatever clinic they want, but I would prefer to go with a clinic where they have a proven track record for banding and aftercare support. Also why pay an extra $2000 over what Surgical Weight Loss Centre in Mississauga and the Toronto LapBand Centre in Toronto charge for a new clinic who is the new kid on the block?

What would we do without your humour Donna?

Excellent points!

I have it from a reputable source that Dr. Joffee is definitely involved with this clinic but is probably keeping a low profile with his disciplinary hearing coming up.

I would be extremely wary of this new clinic! If who I believe is the surgeon (or one of them there) what will happen to the patients aftercare IF he is found guilty at his disciplinary hearing?

Wow Peaches sorry to hear about your difficulties but I am sure they will get you fixed up once you've had your tests and they find out the problem. Believe me I felt like a failure after regaining all my weight after the VBG years out. God bless Dr. Cobourn for doing my revision and an excellent job I am so grateful to have had very smooth sailing since being banded. Wishing you all the best in a speedy resolution of your issues, keep us posted! Hugs,

I had the revision after having had the VBG (stomach stapling) in 1987. I went from 260 down to 113 for several years but after the first 3 years the staple line began to disrupt. (It was very common for this to happen due to the old way that they stapled the stomach.) This resulted in starting to overeat again and after several more years I regained my weight.