TLBC vs. SWLC

[Donna 0]

Yeah but the competition keeps them on their toes and good for us!

[so done with it all 1]

As for lifetime fills vs 5 year fills, who really cares. That would not be the selling point for me. When I was banded, fills were only included for 2 years then they went to 5 years and by the time I'm at 5 years, they might in fact be included for life. If they aren't, I don't really care since a fill is not an expensive procedure, it cost me more to get to the clinic and stay overnight than the minimal cost of a fill would be. And hell most of us are all over the country and are paying for fills from Day 1 anyway so it's just all part and parcel of the band. I still say pick the clinic, you are comfortable with and gives you the best of what you really need from them. Lots need coddling and constant contact with them and others just need the clinic when they have a question that needs answering. Both are wonderful and you'll be in good hands in either one.

[lizzie_07 0]

I just want to add my 2 cents in here...

I had my surgery done at TLBC and while the surgeon is great, if you are an out-of-province patient, they are not so great with follow up care. I have had so much difficulty finding someone to do my fills and ended up going to someone that has been trained by the other clinic in miss. They say that they can simply give your doctor a dvd and he will do your fills for you, but I have found this not to be the case. My family doctor refused for legal reasons. I found another doctor who was willing to do it and she backed out at the last minute as she wanted to get approval from the College of Physicians, who said she COULD NOT do fills unless the surgeon himself trained her. I told the fill nurse at TLBC of my difficulties and she was rude and only offered for me to go to montreal, which I obviously couldn't afford to do every 2 weeks. No one has called me since asking me if I found someone or how I have gotten along. Infact, no one has called me asking about my progress since the day after the surgery.

It seems to me that TLBC is fantastic if you live in the area. Just be aware that if you live out-of-province, your experience may be vastly different.

[Cindy_D 1]

Lizzy this is tough - how are you making out with or without after care? Have you been able to find anyone out there to help you? Good luck.

Cindy

[Doddie63 6]

Hi: How very sad but true Elizabeth. I felt like the TLBC's fill nurse had an attitude problem. I have no complaints with the Dr. nor the actual experience of the band surgery but I did have a lot to say about the aftercare. It has been only my persistance in filing complaints and demanding some help that I get some from Jill. She calls me once a month(could be more if I wanted it). She is one nice individual. Also it took some persistance on my part to get the clinic to refer me to a doctor our here. They tried to tell me that he would do all fills for their clinic but that was not the case. He was and is very selective.

Would I recommend the TLBC, yes without hesitation but with a caveat that if you are outside the Province consider the aftercare carefully. Can you afford to fly back for a free fill or would it would it be better to go to a clinic that has fill nurses in your Province? If you are following the program, you should not require a lot of fills and defills, but let's face it, we are all human. Doddie

[lizzie_07 0]

Glad to hear I'm not the only one. After a tough time finding a doctor to do my fills I ended up locating a fill nurse who was trained by the surgeon at SWLC. She is great, but charges me $150 (plus about $50 for gas). It took a lot of effort to find her and it's a shame TLBC couldn't have helped me out just a LITTLE. I hoped that TLBC would perhaps call me occasionally, particularly knowing I was having difficulties and did not live in the province. I like Dr. Yau though, and when I've called him on his cell he has been very helpful. I'm also very happy with how the surgery itself went. For these reasons I wouldn't change my choice of going to TLBC, I'm just disappointed in their lack of follow up on a patient who clearly cannot come into the clinic.

I would also like to point out that I flew to Toronto for my first fill + nutritional seminar, thinking they would ask me how I was doing, etc. but the only person I saw was the fill nurse, who did my fill and asked nothing. Considering I flew all the way to Toronto and it is the only time I have been there since my surgery, it would have been nice for them to ask me a little about how my recovery has been, perhaps look at my scars. Maybe I'm asking too much of them?

[lizzie_07 0]

I also want to add that the fill nurse said this was MY problem and that I should have figured this out before I had the surgery (I did, I found a doctor willing to do fills but the dvd training session was not approved by the college of physicians).

[Doddie63 6]

Lizzi: You just stated my problem as well. My family doctor said he would support me but backed out because of the legal issuse with the College. Boy do I relate to you. One of my angry but polite emails was sent to the CEO. His response to one of his staff members about me was ugly but LOL, he inadvertantly sent it to me. I found the Dr., the Head Nurse and the dietician very nice but I can't say the same for the fill nurse. She made a decision that I didn't need surgery and dismissed me summarily. Doddie

[lizzie_07 0]

Good for you for emailing them! I wasn't sure if I should try to complain to anyone and if so, who I should complain to.

[Doddie63 6]

Lizzie: Any business can not improve if the negatives sit out in the public but are not aired to them. It is said one complaint mailed in, represents 1,000 unspoken complaints. Go to the TLBC website and get their contact e mail address for Chris the CEO and state your position clearly. You may not benefit but others may. The TLBC is one of the finest clinics and the Dr. is (in my opinion) the best, but their PR is hurting them badly. The CEO has to do something about fill sites throughout Canada and not just cosmetic like a new website. Doddie

[susieq321 31]

Good for you for emailing them! I wasn't sure if I should try to complain to anyone and if so, who I should complain to.

Lizzie,

email info@tlbc.ca and file a complaint if you don't tell them what is going on they will never know. Behavior like that is unacceptable there are a ton of ways she can help you.

Good luck

Heather

[lizzie_07 0]

Thanks Heather! I'm going to email them tomorrow.

[susieq321 31]

Thanks Heather! I'm going to email them tomorrow.

I am glad you are writing, I had issues when I was traveling into town getting a hold of Nancy and left over 4 messages with no response I finally went another route to get a hold of someone who answered me in minutes instead of taking over a week with no response. But I was lucky I knew of another route to get my problem solved not everyone does.

If we don't write and formalize the complaints the higher ups at TLBC won't know what is going on and then will never fix it. I have dealt with Kathy and she is amazing at solving issues and does it fast. But if we don't tell the problem children's bosses what is happening they will go on thinking those people are servicing their patients and doing it well.

I have always found businesses pay more attention to a written complaint than a phone call... they feel the need to respond and address something someone takes the time to put in writing.

Heather

[sheelk 0]

I am trying to find somewhere to have lap band fills in or near Toronto for a friend. The best I have been able to do is one doctor's office that was a $5,000 fee.

Does anyone out there know of either a doctor or nurse that does fills for patients that were banded in Mexico or Costa Rica for a reasonable amount of money.

Please respond to komishe@sccoast.net

Many thanks,

sheila

[susieq321 31]

I am trying to find somewhere to have lap band fills in or near Toronto for a friend. The best I have been able to do is one doctor's office that was a $5,000 fee.

Does anyone out there know of either a doctor or nurse that does fills for patients that were banded in Mexico or Costa Rica for a reasonable amount of money.

Please respond to komishe@sccoast.net

Many thanks,

sheila

Sheila,

that one is harder since none of the Toronto banding clinics are taking on patients done by other surgeons because of the risks and a lot of family docs and outside surgeons are not willing to take them on either because if there is a complication who does the patient hold responsible and their malpractice insurance won't cover them. Her best bet may be to talk to her band surgeon and ask them to ask the manufacturer of her band to help them out with people in her area who are willing to work with her.

Good luck

Heather