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Iam definitely interested in a lawsuit against Slimband. I have lost thousands of dollars in pay due to having to take unpaid sick leave (in fact, I am lucky to even still be employed). Also, I'm told that almost everyone will need to eventually have to have it removed (mine hasn't been yet). My personal e-mail is Lauren.hayden.Stevens17@gmail.com if you would like to connect with me. Does anyone have any information or does ohip cover what to do

Good Day All, Long story short, I'd like to know if anyone has heard of a class action lawsuit that has been started? If you haven't but would like to be, I would like to start a petition of sorts so I can get a ballpark of numbers to give the lawyer. There is a good lawyer in London Ontario that I have contacted previously, but unless there are numbers, there's no point. In Oct 2013 I had the band placed in a rush of fury by their lies and pressure tactics. After 6 months of not being able to drink water without it coming back up, they finally agreed to remove it. Shortly after the removal I found out I was pregnant (not expected I could even get pregnant because of the malnutrition), but because I couldn't keep any nutrients down before and after removal, the baby never stood a chance. I had to have a emergency dilation of my esophagus twice and still can't have thick liquids without it coming up. I also just applied to have correct weight loss surgery, and was denied because they won't touch patients that have previously had a band. Now I've reached my limit and reading all of these other horror stories, something needs to be done. Signing on the dotted line in this case is bullshit. The clinic was shut down it was so bad, so clearly these signatures should be null and void too. I am not asking for extensive information, but if you would like to see how far this could go, please just leave your name and year Slimband screwed you over./ Much thanks, and power to us people ;) Holly M - Waterloo Ontario

Hey everyone! Where do you go these days to get your band adjusted? How much? How easy/difficult?

So to make a very long story short, I paid 16,000 dollars to the SLIMMBAND CLINIC IN TORONTO, TO INSERT BY LAPOROROCOPY AND GENERAL ANESTHETIC A DEVICE WHICH WAS TO CONTROL MY APPETITE AND HELP ME TO LOSE AND MAINTAIN MY WEIGHT, FOR MY HEALTH. I was blind sighted, I should have done my homework, this very clinic and doctor had jumped ship on hundreds of other innocent unsuspecting, patients. I went through the courts and won the case against the clinic, big deal they shut their doors one week prior to my court date. My only hope is to tell anyone who even thinks about this way of life in the Toronto area be certain it is not the same owner, nor the same doctor that took my money and left me with a nonfunctioning piece of silicone band in my abdomen. Three surgeries later and many heart aches and physical discomfort I had the monster removed.DO NOT BE FOOLED THEY HIRE SKINNY PEOPLE WHO TELL YOU THEY HAD THE SAME SURGERY. I HAVE ASLO BEEN IN CONTACT WITH PATIENTS THAT ENDED UP WITH SEVERE INFECTIONS AND MANY COMPLICATIONS.

I was banded in 2015 and went online to search Slimband because I didn't have their phone number and a site came up saying they have closed their doors. I did some research and found out that the owner of slimband also had a previous clinic that closed and was then changed to slimband. Wondering if he is going to do the same thing and re-open under another name? I have emailed someone that is posted as a support email have gotten a response but I am now worried as far as medical help if there are complications down the road are we left with nothing? I am pretty sure my port has flipped but was told not to worry .........if anyone has had any communication please share. I did ask about fills and am waiting a response but I am not hopefull we will be getting fills anymore now that the clinic has closed. I believe the support person who is emailing me is just someone that has been previously banded but not a RN. Will update when I hear back .

I have discovered that those banded by TLBC (pre - Fall of 2008) are no longer receiving treatment from Slimband who took over the TLBC patients. I signed up for a lifetime program of fills, defills & corrections if necessary but now I have been completely cut off of any and all support. I am looking for any former staff (I spoke to one nurse) who were "let go/fired" by Slimband but can atest to the fact that TLBC did agree to a lifelong support system & that patients such as myself were not informed of any changes to our agreement when Slimband took over. I hope to hear from someone soon. Anna

Hi All, Im new to this forum and used to maintain band-support contact via a dear banded friend who passed away in 2014. I am now taking legal action against Slimband and wondering if anyone is still seeking action against the clinic. I understand that regardless of the Feb 2014 articles, Dr Yau never left the clinic. He was there performing surgery the entire time. My surgery was performed in 2011 by Dr Kundal and 3 Upper GI's over 2.5 years showed it was never in place and the clinic has ignored me this entire time. Im now finding I have to sleep sitting up and spend most of every night choking. If anyone has had any success or is in the process of taking action against Slimband I would be very interested to hear from you.

Anyone banded by TLBC or Slimband that isn't currently being adequately cared for or entirely dropped. Please contact me directly at Tlbchelp@gmail.com I have been working on a solution for the past several months and looks like I am getting close. I was banded back in 2007 by Tlbc and then totally dropped early 2014 by Slimband. As if they are a different entity? Still don't buy it. Contact me.

Hi There, I am one of those TLBC/Slimand patients left in the lurch. Are you? When TLBC became Slimband we were told that Slimband assumed the contracts and that care would continue as per the contract that we signed, specifically care for life. I think that there is a breach in contract and that we can prove that we have been getting care from Slimband under the terms and conditions of our TLBC contracts up until the OMA began it's investigation of Dr. Lau and his medical practices. When I signed the agreement it was with the clinic and not with Dr. Lau, so when the contract was assumed by Slimband, it should have been with the clinic not with a specific doctor. Please reply and let's get this going!

I have heard from a few very reliable sources that Yau never left Slimband. He was in the OR last Monday. They are not being truthful to his patents when they tell them he is no longer associated with Slimband. I wonder why?

I have received unsettling news that I know will upset quite a few of you. Yau is back doing surgeries at Slimband but they are trying t keep it a secret. Since Dr. Yau resigned from his position at Slimband in February of this year, his patients (including those banded under TLBC) have been told that Slimband is no longer treating them because Yau no longer works there. I called Slimband Patient Support last week and asked the following: Is Dr. Yau still working at Slimband? – the answer was no. Does Dr. Yau still work, in any capacity, out of the Prince Arthur medical clinic? – the answer was no. Are Dr. Yau’s patients, including those banded under TLBC, being supported/treated by Slimband? – the answer was no because “Dr. Yau no longer works at Slimband.” The truth is, Yau performed at least one surgery at Slimband (Prince Arthur) on Monday April 7th 2014. This information was voluntarily given to me via staff members that currently work at Slimband. Be aware that Slimband will do anything to deny he is back working there, including taking his name off his parking spot. So why did he resign when he clearly still continues to work there? Well we can’t be sure but it very likely has to do with the fact that if Yau appeared not to be working at Slimband then they would be able to stop treating his patients, including those banded under TLBC who were guaranteed a lifelong support system without additional cost. We seriously need to do something about this. There is a lawsuit underway for those banded under TLBC because our agreement of a lifelong support system is not being honoured. If you are in this situation please email 2014takeaction@gmail.com. My worry is that other Slimband patients banded under Yau are also not being supported because “Yau no longer works at Slimband.” This is a lie because he is working there. You need to do whatever you can to make others aware of this. Slimband continues to lie and this type of unprofessionalism needs to stop before others sign-up with them only to be disappointed or put in danger as a result of being refused treatment in the future.

Hello all, Now I can't give any details just yet, as myself and many others are in the process of a class action lawsuit, but if you are reading this and are thinking about getting a lapband through Slimband please don't do it. Please look into other places because there are others. When I can share more information about the concerns about Slimband I found out today, I will post again. I know it might be frustrating that I'm not sharing specifics but for right now, I needed to get the word out that those who are thinking about get banded with Slimband, please don't. And if you have a surgery planned with them, I think you should cancel and go somewhere else. Again, when I am able to share this information, I will.

Hello. I have been receiving more and more emails regarding the recent decision of Slimband to no longer support TLBC patients who had been receiving care up until this past December (2013). Slimband now says that they will not honour the lifetime long agreement that we were told we would have. That means if you want a fill then you are paying for $200 for it but only after you get a referral from your GP and have documented what you eat with a 2 Week Photo food Log. After Dr. Yau "resigned" from Slimband the other month, Slimband is now not treating any of his TLBC patients even if they pay. So if you were banded by TLBC you are being left out in the cold. Slimband said they would pass along information as to where I could go and get a fill but they never sent me the information. The support staff have been nothing but rude when myself and others have called so be aware that if you call they will treat you the same and will send you away. The good news is that I have been working on a lawsuit class action case. I have posted on this forum and had little hope that I would find anyone in the same situation I have found myself BUT I was wrong. There are many of us who want to take action against Slimband and this decision. I want to also make those who have had success aware of this because if anything happens in the future (i.e. infection) you won't get assistance from Slimband). If you want more information on any of this, please email me at 2014takeaction@gmail.com Thanks

I am looking for a place in Toronto (GTA) where I can get a fill adjustment. Some clinics are asking $5.00.00 just for registration with them! Supposedly that's how much they need 'to take care of me'!!! Is there a place where you can go and get a fill like in the old times?

Hi All, Does anyone know the date of when Slimband was established? day/month/year? Myself and several others have called Slimband and have yet to get an answer from them. Not sure what the big secret is about. If you know, could you please email me at 2014takeaction@gmail.com or respond to this post? Thanks, Kat

As you are all likely to know, there's been a lot a backlash about Slimband in the past week or so, especially since Yau resigned. As a TLBCer, I've been told that I'm no longer being supported by Slimband nor are they going to provide treatment in the future, for fills, defills, etc. I was told that they were looking to refer us to another clinic. I sent an email to Slimband to request more information about this and in the past they have always been prompt with their responses but I have yet to hear back from them. I'm sure there's a lot of people concerned about what's going on but I'm confident that TLBCer's and/or Yau's patients are not their priority anymore. In fact, they have said that we (TLBCer's/Yau's patients) are no longer their responsibility. So now that our surgeon is gone and our money has been cashed, we are being left out in the cold. I feel completely lost, confused and hopeless.

Please read this post carefully. Some of you have been following the TLBC/Slimband/Dr. Yau thread on BP over the past week and I wanted to give everyone an update. As one of 3 organizers of the 2014takeaction@gmail.com email account, I can assure you that we have had an overwhelming amount of people contacting us to offer their support and interest in joining with us. These people include those banded by TLBC, some by Slimband and even former TLBC/Slimband staff members. So we’ve got a solid group and there’s a high potential for growth once we spread the word and more people go online. All of us are either interested in pursuing legal action or are looking for more information. On concerns relate to how Slimband has treated/mistreated us as TLBCer’s/Slimbanders. At this time, myself and two other woman are looking around for a lawyer who will represent us. Two of us are in Toronto and this is likely where we will be looking. But before we contact or meet with a lawyer we wanted to do a bit of leg work first. That’s where all of you come in. If you are interested I would a statement which would speak to your specific TLBC/Slimband story/experience. Please include whatever information you think is important. Please also include what concerns you have with how things are being handled. These statements will help us show/tell the lawyer what are concerns are and that there are a lot of us who want to take action. The only people who will see these statements are myself, the other 2 organizers and the lawyer. Please do not share you statements on this forum/thread. Instead, email them to me at 2014takeaction@gmail.com I have been forewarned (by a former TLBC/Slimband staff member) that Slimband will most definitely be out there posing as a TLBC bandster. This is to be expected and it’s fine as we are not doing anything illegal. But I do want to limit the amount of information we give them so that's why you should communicate via the email above. When you are able to submit your statement via this email address, please include as much information about yourself as possible. Date of surgery. Surgeon. Home city and/or province. I have some phone numbers and I will personally be calling you to chat and connect with you so if you want to share your phone number I will call you. You could include where you went to school and/or what you do for a living. If you have a LinkedIn Profile that would be a good way to connect as well. I don’t want anyone to be offended by this semi-intrusive procedure of obtaining personal information but it’s important for us, as we go forward, to only communicate with those who are serious about wanting to take action. So if you are onboard, please submit your statements/stories ASAP. Preferrably by Monday March 3rd 2014 as we will be meeting with a lawyer in the next few weeks. If you have any questions or concerns, please email me at 2014takeaction@gmail.com I hope to hear from you all soon. Thank you. PS – Keep spreading the word.

If you are thinking about getting the lap-band, it's a big decision and one you need to think about carefully. I wish I had done more research before I got mine and perhaps I would have gone somewhere other than Slimband. There's so much going on at Slimband that it's scary. It's a company that just wants your money. Once your payments clear, they'll drop you. It's happened to lots of us already. They will actually refer to you as a client because that's all you are to them. They are also very secretive which means you can't have any trust in them in terms of the care you will get post-surgery. If you ask questions you will likely go ignored for a long time. There is absolutely NO TRANSPARENCY! If you run into problems, and I mean serious problems, that are dangerous, they are sometimes not taken seriously. There article below mentions a lawsuit that occurred and trust me when I say, I've heard other horrible and terrifying stories/experiences as well. They fire or force their staff to resign. Last May, pretty much all their staff were let go. Now, with very few staff, there is not a lot of support and people have to pay for treatments that they were told they wouldn't have to. They will cut you off from services with no notice and they will say they are not required to give you such notice. Please consider another company. Slimband has gotten too big. It is a company that wants your money and will do whatever they can to get you signed up for surgery. They will use a sales pitch that is hard to ignore and they have even signed up people who don't qualify for the procedure. If you look at any place online, the lap band should only be given to those who are at least 100 pounds overweight. I know of an individual who was 190lbs and who only had to lost 30 pounds to be at their target weight. Dr. Patrick Yau resigned last week for the mistreatment of patients. He was an absolutely horrible person. And I know that he is no longer apart of Slimband but he was the Chief Surgeon for a long time at Slimband. During his time with them, he was a horrible physician and I question any company who would let such a doctor treat their patients for as long as he did. If I had to go through this all again, I would have likely gotten a gastric bypass. Although more involved, it's free and much more successful in terms of results. There are other places that you can get the lap band from. I'd say go anywhere but Slimband. Do your research.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/02/21/chief-surgeon-at-slimband-weight-loss-clinics-resigns-after-probe-reveals-significant-history-of-complaints/

Hi, I am looking for people who were banded with TLBC in Toronto (now Slimband) to see if they have been advised that they are no longer going to support us free of charge. I called their last week and I was told that they no longer can afford it financially and it is not fair to their new memebers to honor those old contracts. They honored them for a awhile but since Dec 2013 they can no longer and as patients we are no longer obligated to seek services(fill and defills) from them since we don't have any contractual obligation with them. I can't seem to find a contract that I would have signed with them, not even sure if I got one. Does anyone else have a copy of their contract? I can recall being told that I had lifetime support .I still have a lot of questions that I didn't get to ask when I called because I was frustrated and emotional about the situation but I plan to call back and get more answers. If anyone has a simular experience or has more answers I would like to hear from you. I'm not sure what I am goiing to do with this information, I am contemplating contacting a lawyer to see if they are obligated by the contract or what my options are but I am trying to reach out to others who may be facing this same situation. Hope to hear from someone. Tamara from Sudbury, Ontario

I am to have surgery on August 9th. I am wondering if I should plan to stay in the Toronto area overnight and head home the next morning. I haven't been told yet from them but am wondering if anyone here has used their clinic.

Any other slimbanders out there from the Oshawa area?

Hello all...how's everyone doing that has had the slimband procedure done...I've booked myself for June 21/13 and love hearing the great stories of ppl doing really well...everyone needs a little help from time to time and I'm hoping that slimband is my help that I need

I have been banded since 2008 and have done quite well with the band. Recently I have been having some strange symptoms of heartburn and occasional pain. I have tried to call Slimband and no one returns my calls. I heard from one of my friends in Toronto that they fired 15 staff last week including some of the nurses and dieticians. I am coming up to my 5 year mark and am worried about the follow up. Has anyone else had problems? Cindy