Lapband in the DC Area

[Pamela Yvonne 0]

Hello everyone,

I live in the DC & MD area, has anyone out there had the lapband surgery here. If so can you recommend a good Doctor. I have done some research on a couple of doctors and I would like to know if anyone have tried Dr. Marc Rickford at Providence Hospital. If so please let me know. Thanks:help:

[mumof2boys 71]

Hi. I live in Maryland and am scheduled to have my lapband at George Washington Hospital on 4/30/2007 with Dr. Frederick Brody. I think he's great and I have talked to someone else who had him and they loved him.

[Pamela Yvonne 0]

Hello Mumof2boys,

I was just checking on you? I have called Dr. Brody office a couple of times and no one called me back. So I heard he was a great doctor, I would have loved to go to GW hospital. So are you getting ready? do you have to do one or two weeks of liquid diet for Dr. Brody?

Please Keep in touch.

Pamela

[mumof2boys 71]

No one called you back? Yes...he is a wonderful doctor and his staff is great. They really make sure that you have everything that you need for the insurance company. I was completely shocked when I got approved right away. In fact, I couldn't even make an appointment for a consultation until they sent me an information package and I had to get all of the paperwork done prior to coming in. They run a tight ship, but it's worth it.

Yes...I have to do a two week Optifast diet and I go tomorrow to purchase it. It's not covered by insurance, but I figured...it's a lot cheaper than paying for the surgery. I also have to do a mandatory pre-op seminar and I have that scheduled for Wednesday (4/11/07).

Have you found a doctor yet? If not, I suggest that you try Dr. Brody's office again. I can give you the number that I call. Just let me know. Good luck!

[Pamela Yvonne 0]

Well, I found Dr. Rickford at Providence Hospital when Dr.

Brody office never called me back. I did wait and left a couple of messages at Dr. Brody office but no one never called. So I done some research of Doctors that does the lapband in the DC area and he Dr. Rickford came up and I done some more research on him and read his forum of people that talked very highly of him. So I made an appointment went in and he was so nice, he walked me through everything and a very young nice looking doctor might I say. He was great, we talked for 30 minutes and I asked him a lot of questions and he answered them just fine.

I asked him about the liquid diet also he told me he wanted me to do one week of Optifast to shrink my liver. I scheduled my therapy appoint April 11, and my Cardiology appointment April 13, I should be done, I hope, but I do see the Doctor on Friday late that afternoon. I will keep you posted on what they say.

What insurance do you have? and did you have to go through a lot of hoops to get approved, like cardiology, therapy, and dietician.

Pamela

[mumof2boys 71]

I'm glad that you have located a surgeon and it sounds like you really like him. Dr. Brody is pretty young too (he's 42). Anyway...I have MDIPA. I had to do 6 months of a doctor supervised weight loss program, have a psychiatric evaluation, clearance from my cardiologist, blood work and then I could finally make my appointment with Dr. Brody. I go tomorrow to buy my Optifast and I start taking it on the 16th. I am scheduled for surgery on April 30. I'm getting scared. It's going to be hard to do the liquid diet, but I understand the importance of it. I have to do it for two weeks and then following the surgery I have to drink Ensure for a week or two before starting on solid foods. I'm getting quite nervous.

Good luck to you and keep me informed of your progress. I would love to hear all about it. What insurance do you have?

[Pamela Yvonne 0]

I have BCBS Federal, I spoke with a BCBS representative and I ask her the procedures of getting the Lapband, she said as long is my BMI is 35 or 36 I am qualified right away so I do not have to go to a long and drawn out weight loss program. I did that with Kaiser.

Oh! I had Kaiser for six years and they only offered the Gastric at that time, so I was really thinking about it. I had to have supervised visits to the nutritionist for six months also. I completed that and did my therapy with the therapist, Cardioloy and something else I just can't remember then I was ready to schedule my appointment to get the procedure done but something happen to my girlfriend. My girlfriend had the gastric procedure done and she passed away seven or eight months after her surgery. So I said, Hell no I will do it the natural way. Her death really bothered me so I know a few of my girlfriends that had it done and they are doing just fine and one of me girlfriends husband had it done and he looks good and doing just well. So, I said I really don't think that is for me and I asked them about the lapband and they said they do not offer that.

So I changed to BCBS because of my daughter and this year I just called to see if I can go to a doctor that prescribes diet pills and then I asked the rep do you all offer the lapband yet? she said as of a matter of fact yes we do we just started offering it this year. So that is when I started hunting down a doctor in the area.

I am so happy that they offer this and I really wish you well. Don't be nervous you are going to look good and feel great. My back is really starting to hurt me very often and my knees are too. So the sooner the better for me and Dr. Rickford said I only stay in the hospital for oneday. that is great for me, and he would like for me to stay home for at least two weeks after the surgery.

What did Dr. Brody say for you? Good Luck!!

[mumof2boys 71]

Oh my goodness...I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. That is terrible. I thought about gastric by-pass but for only a short time. I heard too many horror stories. The Lapband is much safer. You're right...Kaiser doesn't offer it...my girlfriend is going through that right now. She's so upset. I heard that BCBS approves it fairly easy. You should have no problem.

Well...my surgery is scheduled for 1:30 pm and I will be released the following morning. He said that there have been times that he released people from the recovery room but he will not do that if you have children at home because he wants you to take care of yourself and not worry about the children. I wouldn't want to go home from the recovery room anyway. I plan to go back to work the following Monday unless he says otherwise. I have heard that most people take one week and with mine being on a Monday, I figured that would be plenty of time.

I'm glad that you have gotten an insurance company that covers it and it appears that things are going in the right direction for you. I wish you the very best. Let me know how your appointments go and when you are scheduled for surgery. I'll let you know how the Optifast tastes (I heard it's not that bad, but we'll see).

[Pamela Yvonne 0]

Yes, please let me know how it taste to:hungry: . Dr. Rickford told me he likes for his patients to use powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury this is a Protein shake that taste great and also you can look this up on the internet they have so many flavors and you can also do different kinds of shakes with this. I will purchase Unjury when I get my date for surgery.

I will let you know what the doctor say on Friday. Good luck to you and don't forget to look Unjury up on the internet and let me know what you think about it. You are going to look fabulous, I am so excited for you. Please keep in touch;) .

Pamela

[bhabydoll 0]

Hi I have BCBS federalalso and have been having a little problem finding a doctor. I live in southern Maryland so I was going to go to Dr. Waggener at Southern Maryland hospital. Now they dont know if they have a team to do it. So I searched and search my provider directory (BCBS told me to look under general surgery) and I found Dr. Kalan. He actually just did surgery on my father to remove a part of his colon so I know he will be good, but have you had any news if the insurance company has approved you? I was just curious how long it would take once they submit it. Thanks:o

[Pamela Yvonne 0]

Hey Bhabydoll,

OK, you have the same insurance I have which is Fed BCBS. If your BMI is over 35 your automatically approved, I called and spoke to a BCBS rep. My doctors office said, I do not need any paperwork to fill out I believe the doctors office does that because that is what they told me.

If you are looking for a good doctor in your area, I would call the local hospitals and ask information about who does lapband surgery their. I remember when I started looking I called BCBS and ask which doctors in my area does the procedure and she told me to look under general surgery too. So I was looking at the forum and I kept seeing Dr. Brody name and I did call his office but no one never called me back so that is when I called Providence Hospital and asked Do you have any doctors that does the lapband/gastric there and they told me yes Dr. Rickford and Dr. Fullum and they gave me their numbers. So I would try that first and look up Doctors under this forum and see what other people wrote in your area.

[mumof2boys 71]

I would not recommend going to Southern Maryland hospital for the procedure. Try to stick with the big hospitals. I don't particularly like Southern Maryland Hospital, myself. I have heard that Inova Fair Oaks Hospital has a great surgeon and I think that the person who told me also had BCBS. You can try Dr. Brody's office too. I know that they didn't call back, but I haven't had a problem. It's worth a shot.

I started my Optifast diet yesterday and it's really hard for me. When I fix dinner for my kids, I really want to nibble on their stuff...like their mac and cheese tonight. But...I didn't. I must say...I kind of enjoy the chicken Soup. It kind of taste like gravy. The shakes...I could do without. Good luck!:biggrin1:

[pronetus 0]

Dr's Pinnar in Reston, VA have very good reputations and good post care. Their Insurance specialist Jill and her husband are bandsters. They dont take INS, but you can file afterwards, BCBS FEB will have a 5-7k out of pocket expense. Actually not too bad given the fact that max OOP for in network is total 4k per year. Just a thought.

Good luck

[gunn4ya 0]

BhabyDoll,

DO NOT HAVE YOUR SURGERY AT SOUTHERN MARYLAND HOSPITAL!!! This is not a good hospital for new and complicated surgeries. Check at GW hospital.

Just my opinion but I sure as heck dont wanna ever wake up and find out I am in Southern Maryland Hospital.

[mumof2boys 71]

I could not agree more! I would highly recommend GW (Dr. Brody) or Inova Fair Oaks Hospital. Where do you live in Southern Maryland? I'm having my surgery at GW Hospital on 4/30/07 (I also live in Southern Maryland) and so far I have not had any problems. Everyone has been very friendly and helpful. Also...I have heard that BCBS covers the procedure. I wouldn't recommend paying out of pocket and hoping for reimbursement. Try to be patient. Everything will work out.

Tina:dance: