Need help in alaska:

redfox · May 30, 2007

Just started my search and pretty determined to get it done GREAT SUPPORT from this group priceless information.One question:Any banders in Alaska?Please contact me email would be nice.I live in bush ak. no less, no such thing as a fill doc. here.what would I do.Any one with an answer ,please.I read my first negative post on MX. Doc.'s tonite .so far it seems Dr.Rodriguez and Ortaz are the most talked about any one know first hand about DR.Alberto Aceves at Almater Hosptial?also,does anyone know for sure if this surgery is tax deductable ?Any info.on any of these questions would be great...thanks:help:

CathyMDS · May 30, 2007

The surgery is definately tax deductible as you are having surgery to improve your health and not purely cosmetic. Just remember you have to hit the 7.5% of Adjusted Gross Income to be able to deduct it. But you can add all health insurance co-payments, and all prescriptions, and all other doctor appointments to that figure. I had my surgery with Dr. Rodriguez in Monterrey Mexico in April. He's great and the experience was everything they said it would be. But I now need a fill and there are no doctors here in Atlanta that will take me on as a "mexican banded" patient. I did find two doctors who would take on Mexico patients but since I have the swedish band, they won't do it. The Inamed band is the only band that is FDA approved.... remember that. That seems to be the deciding factor in finding most fill doctors.

Cathy

marcyinak · May 30, 2007

You're in luck fellow bush liver! I live in Nome and have scheduled my surgery for 7/10 with Dr. Kirshenbaum in Denver...$9950 package, which is about the same as Mexico (which I looked into and was looking at Rambault in Monterrey). Anyhoo...There are three docs in Anchorage who do fills. Dr.'s Todd (AK Bariatric Center) and Searles (Anchorage Surgical and Bariatric) do the surgery, but take fill patient on a patient by patient basis - makes getting fills hard for Mex. patients. There is a Dr. F. Leland Jones at Medical Park Family Care who does fills for about $200 and he will take Mex. patients. He doesn't use a fluorscope, but if there are issues he'll send you to his radiologists who will (and they can do a fill there too). I know that Fairbanks Memorial Hospital will do them, but don't know how to go about that...I usually head into Anchorage when I "go to town" anyway. Also, Dr. Jones will "tweak" within a week for no charge.

I'm a self-pay so price was a major factor. I've heard many good things about surgery in Mexico, but when it came down to it, Kirshenbaum had the same price, plane tickets were cheaper, and it's in the states.

If there's anything other information you need, just ask. Someone here, or I, will have done a lot of research and can get you an answer!

Good luck!

redfox · May 31, 2007

Marcinak,youre in nome --------Im in Nome lol!!!this is too funny.Call me.You'll know what this means:Call NSHC ask for the activities dept.We probly already know each other some way or another.....