Unbanded beauty ;-)

February 7, 2005

Hi all,

I've been looking into weight loss surgery for a few months but have yet to follow thru. I'm 5"7" and well over 300lb. In my search I discovered the Lap Band proceedure. From what I've read it seems to be the safest of all the weight loss surgeries. I'm in the San Diego, CA area. Does anyone have a doctor in this area that they can recommend?

svanessa

Penni60 · February 8, 2005

I am not sure about in San Diego exactly but some others on here might make a suggestion. Is your insurance going to cover the procedure? If so then your options are large. I see Dr. Helmuth Billy in Ventura for my follow up. I highly recommend him but I know that is a distance for you. If you chose to go to Mexico since you are so close just chose wisely as they do not have the same set of standards of practice as US surgeons. Doesn't mean that are any less qualified to perform the surgery just means they have different standards. I had mine done in Mexico and was pleased with the surgery but the aftercare was lacking.

HOpe this helps.

February 8, 2005

Thanks Penni,

I would NEVER consider going to Mexico for surgery. I won't even go for a day trip for fun but I won't go into that here.

I called lapband.com for a referal in my area (San Diego). I'm researching the 3 names they gave me:

Kiel V. Potts (http://www.thinnertimes.com/office/dr_potts_cv.html)

Matthew Brunson (http://www.scrippsclinic.com/Physicians/OnePhysician.cfm?ID=1960)

and Sunil Bhoyrul

(http://www.scrippsclinic.com/Physicians/OnePhysician.cfm?ID=10063) both of Scripps Clinic.

Have you heard of any of them?

As to insurance coverage I haven't checked that out yet. If they dont cover it, I'll take a loan on my 401K at work.

Sue

donali · February 8, 2005

Hi Sue -

There is a San Diego bandster group with very nice, wonderful people in it - they meet about once a month on the second Sunday. I know at least one person had her surgery in San Diego, with Brunson, I believe. You should check out that group and post your questions there, even though most had their surgery in Mexico, there is some knowledge about the local docs.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/SanDiegoBandsters/

Best wishes,