Do you live in BC but were banded elsewhere?

[Paulax 8]

Oh. I must add that the fee for fill is $75.00 charged by Dr. Woodhead. Doddie

Doddie, update me, where are you getting your fills?

Paula<----------just curious.

[Doddie63 6]

As I said, Dr. Woodhead does them. Dr Yau, is the pioneer doctor that introduced the band to Canada and he trained Dr. Woodhead to implant the band. As it is not practical for me to travel to Toronto, Dr. Yau referred me to Dr. Woodhead. I find him extemely competent. There are others banded by other doctors who go to Dr. Woodhead as well, but it is understandable that he won't just take anyone without first reviewing their health and band history. It is sad that someone would make such ill informed statements and possibly destroy that reputation is beyond my comprehension. Doddie

[Ang1982 4]

Hopefully this doesn't get lost at the bottom of this thread and people still see it.

So last night I was explaining the surgery, etc to my mom and she had a couple of pretty legitimate questions which I was hoping perhaps someone here could help out with.

1) If I get my surgery done out of Province/Country - currently looking into going to Dr.Kirshenbaum in Colorado - and self paying as BC Med does not cover it - nor does my extended medical through work . . what happens if something goes wrong during the surgery such as lets say for example: a heart attack (for lack of something better, unlikely since I'm 25 but it's the first thing to pop into my mind) and now they are treating me for that - Will I be getting hospital bills up the wazoo?

2) So say I get my surgery done whether it be Toronto, Colorado, wherever (basically anywhere out of Province) if there is some sort of issue with it that requires emergency rectification that I cant make it back to the original surgeon in time to deal with - would I have to pay my local hospital the cost of having to deal with it? And would they just remove it?

3) Similar to question 2 - if you have to have a port replaced or anything of the sort done due to errosion, slippage, etc. and you go back to your original surgeon - do you have to pay for that too? Or is it considered "warranty"?

Thanks for helping with my questions

[Paulax 8]

All good questions. I hope someone who has had surgery in Ontario comes in to answer your questions.

1)With regard to the question about surgery in the US, and if you have a heart attack. I believe that if you do not have insurance covering exactly those possibilities, that yes, you would be responsibile for any unforseen incidents and the costs, like heart attack, etc, whereas if you had your surgery in Canada, you'd be covered.

With regards to the other questions. Why not phone the office of the surgeon you are considering. I have found that the office attendants are very well informed....

Good luck with your decision my dear. Excellent questions.

[Ang1982 4]

So would the "standard" travel insurance cover that I wonder. Perhaps I'll have to pop in at an insurance broker and ask. As I am not sure that if you are already there for another procedure if that falls under the travel insurance that you can buy or not.

Thanks for the reply!

All good questions. I hope someone who has had surgery in Ontario comes in to answer your questions.

1)With regard to the question about surgery in the US, and if you have a heart attack. I believe that if you do not have insurance covering exactly those possibilities, that yes, you would be responsibile for any unforseen incidents and the costs, like heart attack, etc, whereas if you had your surgery in Canada, you'd be covered.

With regards to the other questions. Why not phone the office of the surgeon you are considering. I have found that the office attendants are very well informed....

Good luck with your decision my dear. Excellent questions.

[Paulax 8]

So would the "standard" travel insurance cover that I wonder. Perhaps I'll have to pop in at an insurance broker and ask. As I am not sure that if you are already there for another procedure if that falls under the travel insurance that you can buy or not.

Thanks for the reply!

You had better ask specifically.

Just curious, why would Colorado be better for you than Ontario? Is it cheaper?

If the cost is negligable, stick with Canada. Your health is more important than a few grand even. That is how I look at it and spread over a lifetime it is even less.

But still, I have an open mind and people do go out of the country for surgery. But it is worth thinking about.

Cheers, I know there are a lot of happy LBTC (did I get that right?) patients here.

[Ang1982 4]

Colorado does it for $9950 USD where as I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) TLBC (? heh) is around $16,000 CAD? And unfortunately, that cost difference might make the difference between getting it done and not. I would much prefer Canada but that might not be a possibility.

[LeslieLee 0]

Hi there,

Nice to see you are doing your research, very important for sure. Here is another thing you need to research. If you do go to the States to have your band done, where are you going to have your fills done? This is a huge part of the success you will be wanting to achieve. Make sure you have your aftercare in place. The band is great but only if you work it! No fills can equal no weight loss and you may also need a defill at some point, if you can't get one, yikes!!!

This also applies to out of province. One of the major reasons I choose to go to SWLC is the aftercare for out of province patients that has been set up all over the country.

-=smiles=- Good luck in your research!!

[Ang1982 4]

Hello!

Thanks for posting this, I have been looking into it and have "got it covered" (I hope). I know aftercare is almost more important than the surgery itself so I have done my research and there are three different doctors/clinics within a couple of hours of where I live that are options (two just over the border in Washington and one in Vancouver). They all state that they have to do the consult first but have said that for a brand new patient its uncommon that they wouldnt take you on. I know at least one of them will not accept patients banded in Mexico which is why I am looking at Colorado as the surgeon there has pretty competitive pricing.

Hi there,

Nice to see you are doing your research, very important for sure. Here is another thing you need to research. If you do go to the States to have your band done, where are you going to have your fills done? This is a huge part of the success you will be wanting to achieve. Make sure you have your aftercare in place. The band is great but only if you work it! No fills can equal no weight loss and you may also need a defill at some point, if you can't get one, yikes!!!

This also applies to out of province. One of the major reasons I choose to go to SWLC is the aftercare for out of province patients that has been set up all over the country.

-=smiles=- Good luck in your research!!

[Doddie63 6]

Hi: another thought to travelling outside the country for your surgery. Travel insurance is not there to pay out. the wonderful world of "other related" gives the insurance company the perfect out. You may be in great health now, but what about tomorrow. The band is for life. Also, the insurance companies may well say the band is related to any medical issues you may have in their country then what? The other issue is emergency care. If you attended a BC hospital, you could call out the Vancouver doctor. just some more to think about.

[argon 3]

I'm sure this is covered elsewhere, but anyone know if Dr. Cobourn has any people in the Vancouver area doing fills? (yes, I know of Leung and Woodhead, but I'm thinking if Dr. Cobourn personally has his *own* people, I'd avoid that initial consult fee)

He's gotta have someone... right?!

[Doddie63 6]

Yes, he does. He has a list posted on the internet of all the fill doctors, nurses, etc. There is one listed for Vancouver I believe she has an office in the Medical Dental Building. Either type his name in for a search on the web or contact Dr. Cs clinic and they will tell you. Doddie

[bandiva 0]

I went out of the country and had an excellent experience. I think it is important to remember that we are not going out of country because we want to, but rather because the health care system has failed us...specifically here in BC. Obesity is a serious health problem that leads to other health problems that the province will treat...that makes no sense to me. Also, these dr's who won't treat patients who are done in Mexico, in my opinion, make themselves look bad by being close minded. Dr. Ortiz is a top specialist in his field, the Dr's in BC do about 4 lap bands a month...he does 5-6 a day; so why would the Dr here discredit his...except for $$$$....hmmm.

What is important is YOU, do what is best for you and the rest will always fall into place. I have no regrets. Best wishes.

[Doddie63 6]

well done Bandiva. You should be proud. Doddie

[Ang1982 4]

I think the thing that worries me the most about going out of Province/country whether it be mexico or somewhere in the US is what if something happens during surgery and I going to end up bankrupted in unexpected hospital fees?

And then the other thing is - even if I had surgery somewhere like toronto, what if I had to have emergency surgery (god forbid, knock on wood) here in BC if something went wrong, could the hospital/healthcare charge me if it was related to WLS which they wont pay for?