surgery abroad

[p kay 0]

heya ppl 1st off am sorry if this is not the right place for this post am new here and its taking me awhile to around things.

i think the topic title says it all hehehe....... but allow me to explain ......... i have my mind set on doing the lap band and have been looking into dr. here in australia but i am not insured so i do not want to wait 12 month to get it done. now i started looking at doing the surgery abroad ( health tourism as lots of ppl call it ).

my question is if anyone here actually knows a good tarvel company that specializes in this sort of travel but to south korea or turkey as they are both good professionally and affordable in price ?

also has anyone ever gone through something like this ?

my main focus is on south korea as it is near me and i plan on staying there for a month ( fingers crossed ) its like a holiday with benefits ....... coming back a new better me.

i cant wait to embark on this journey and any help is highly appreciated.

[parisshel 1,892]

Wow. I'm sure you could find a health travel agency on Google, but may I suggest you be prudent and rethink about waiting the 12 months and doing it locally? The reason I say this is that any good bariatric center worth its weight (ha) will have around a 12 month preop set of parameters for you to follow, including blood tests, heart tests, sleep tests, endoscope to see your stomach size and condition (any hernias, etc), pre op diet (usually) to see if you can stick to a set regime, pysch evaluation (very important).

Also, what about your followup care? The lapband requires good and active followup care, along with patient compliance, to be successful.

Lastly, I certainly would not want to do major, invasive surgery and then get on a long flight. Even if you were to stay in So Korea for a month, will you be accompanied? Someone has to be around with you, especially postop, to help you.

Please re-think that 12 month time. It really isn't much in the scheme of things. WLS is not a quick fix anyway, and you could get started on your road to a better you right now, by seeing a bariatric specialist locally, setting those wheels into motion, and using those 12 months to get ready for the lapband mentally and physically.

I know this isn't the answer you wanted to hear, and I apologize in advance if what I've written sounds judgemental. That is not at all my intention. I just worry when I see a post like this one, and want all preops to set themselves up for the safest, most complication-free procedure they can get.

[p kay 0]

not at all i appreciate you taking time and answering me . me thinking about doing it abroad is a scary thing but its not only about waiting the 12 month its about the very high fee here.

also i have done endobarrier 2 years ago and most of those test i already have and can show to my dr. there

i will be traveling either way after 2 months back home and thus doing the surgery in australia or korea would be the same.

regarding fills there are dr. in australia and my home town that dont have issues with follow up care.

i will definitly have a member of my family with me

bottom line is i cant do this surgery back at home now so my option is doing it here in australia or in korea before heading back .........that is why am trying to find reliable companies tohelp me through this as most companies cater for ppl from the usa and i couldnt find anything here in australia .

i hope that i have explained myslef better.

[whimsy1 0]

How successful was endobarrier for you? I've seen that they are doing studies with it here in the us, but you have to be in certain cities and have type-2 diabetes to qualify.