Anyone else have trouble getting cardiac clearance?

[VSGnewguy 164]

I thought the toughest hurdle to jump to get VSG would be getting insurance approval. Well, fortunately I got my insurance approval yesterday but am still waiting on clearance from my cardiologist. I had a stent put in back in December so I have to remain on Plavix for at least a year. This means I will have to stay on Plavix during my surgery which could cause an increased risk of bleeding.

My cardiologist would like me to wait until the one year mark and have the surgery then when I can be off the Plavix. My surgeon has done the procedure before for patients on Plavix and is willing to do it in my case, if that's the route I want to go. It's a tough decision because on one had, there could be surgical complications but on the other, I could develop other problems like diabetes or have another heart attack while waiting 5 months for the surgery. After a lot of careful consideration, I would like to get the surgery done and get started on the road to lower weight and better health. Hopefully my cardiologist will give his approval soon so we can move forward. I have a tentative surgery date of Aug 10.

Anyone else have a similar experience and if so, what was the outcome?

[mamamc32 132]

I haven't been in your exact situation, but I am on a blood thinning drug (Warfarin) for an artificial valve. They can't take me off of it, but they will have me use Lovenox injections before and right after the surgery for a few days rather than take the Warfarin. I'm not familiar with Plavix, but maybe you could also do something like that to reduce the risk of bleeding? If I was in your situation, I would definitely explain my concerns to the cardiologist and ask them if that's an alternative.

Ultimately, however, I would do what the cardiologist tells me to do. They understand your risk of bleeding/clotting better than your bariatric surgeon. As you know, throwing a clot to your brain could be devastating. If your cardiologist thinks that a risk, it's not worth it, IMO.

[VSGnewguy 164]

Thanks for the reply. I got approval from the cardiologist this morning!

[VSGnewguy 164]

Updating for anyone reading this thread who might be in a similar situation. The anesthesiologist would not sign off on me having VSG until I had been on Plavix for a year so I am back to waiting and have my surgery scheduled for January. The good news is that my insurance approval will still be good so I won't have to repeat the process.

[JT2002TJ 170]

10 hours ago, VSGnewguy said:

Updating for anyone reading this thread who might be in a similar situation. The anesthesiologist would not sign off on me having VSG until I had been on Plavix for a year so I am back to waiting and have my surgery scheduled for January. The good news is that my insurance approval will still be good so I won't have to repeat the process.

Sorry to hear this. In the end, it is better to be safe. I'm sure it is frustrating though.