Recommendations and warnings

Cheryl188

I am on the waiting list for the sleeve (3 years). I'm in Canada and it's free, but you have to wait unless you want to pay out of pocket at a private clinic. Recently I've been considering paying out of pocket and even travelling to the US or Mexico. I'd love some advice on surgeons/locations that people recommend or places to avoid.

VaingloriousVictoria

I had my sleeve done by Dr. James Davidson in Dallas, Texas. He also does the bypass. I've had great success.

LolaBug85

I had mine done by Dr. Jeffrey Baker at Unity Hospital in Fridley, Minnesota (not too far from Canada!) and he was AMAZING!!!

Agate69

i paid for mine as my insurance did not cover retirees it was way less than a new car. new cars lose value as soon as you leave the lot. this is the beginning of a new healty life. m
minneapolis has many excellent surgery centers.

St Paul Surgeons and Dr Peter Kelly was my surgeon. So impressed with him, that ai asked him to do my hernia repair 3 weeks ago. They have excellent post op care. They also worked magic with reducing the cost to just a little more than if I had isurance coverage.

Cheryl188

Thank you, everyone! I'm looking into all your suggestions. The Minnesota locations are ideal for me, but I have no problem flying anywhere if it's worth it.

DJRonnieLINY

Wow - a three year wait! Hope my US friends who ware thinking of a sleeve get it done quickly before our healthcare system changes to yours.

That said - if you plan on coming to the US make sure you choose a hospital that is a bariatric center for excellence in order to maximize your outcome.

angelaanhela

Orlando's Celebration Hospital have people come from all over the world to have WLS here. My surgeon is one of the leading surgeons for the DaVinci robotic surgery. I havent had the surgery yet but they said that their patients rarely use the pain pills they are given and you are only in the hospital for one day after surgery.

http://www.floridabariatric.com/weight-loss-center-central-florida/dr-keith-kim

garber6th

Wow - a three year wait! Hope my US friends who ware thinking of a sleeve get it done quickly before our healthcare system changes to yours.

That said - if you plan on coming to the US make sure you choose a hospital that is a bariatric center for excellence in order to maximize your outcome.

My surgeon, Dr. Houman Solomon, is part of the Association of South Bay Surgeons here in Southern California, which is a Bariatric Center of Excellence. He is awesome. Very helpful, honest, nice, and caring. I have had no complications or food issues, I was in the hospital for just one night, and I didn't need pain meds after I got home. He also did my gall bladder removal surgery about 4 years ago and I recovered extremely well from that too.

psychokatt

I had my lap band done by Dr. Lawrence Drahoda in Overland Park, Kansas. He is with Weight Loss Surgical Center. They do sleeves as well and they are a wonderful group of people and he is a great surgeon. Good luck with your search.

ReginaKeat

I'm from Canada as well. You should consider waiting and having your operation in Canada. I've heard of a number of operations from Mexico that ran into trouble. Who do you want to go to if you have problems. Most surgeons do not want someone else's mistakes. You may be having problems for the rest of your life.
One of the benefits of having it in Canada is the support both pre and post operation. This is why the failure rate of out of country surgeries is so high. Think long and hard about going out of country. Even in the USA there may be additional costs if there are complications. Be prepared to pay, costs may not be covered by your insurance.
While waiting you have the opportunity to research

annwyatt69

Mine was done in Houston, TX by Matthew St. Laurent. He is more than AMAZING and has an entire team, comprised of himself, an associate, two dietitians and an office staff that is simply terrific. He has a website so that you can check him out. It's www.drstlaurent.com. What is amazing about his team is that he has probably the BEST dietitian in the state. What I love most is how much time he spends personally with me in his office and that he is that way with everyone. He does the bypass, the sleeve, and the band and has a great follow up practice, including online support, not only thru MFP (my dietitan follows me on here) and a group on Facebook. I could have searched the world over and not found better. Oh, his practice is solely bariatric and he is a center of excellence.

csmccord

Mine was done in Houston, TX by Matthew St. Laurent. He is more than AMAZING and has an entire team, comprised of himself, an associate, two dietitians and an office staff that is simply terrific. He has a website so that you can check him out. It's www.drstlaurent.com. What is amazing about his team is that he has probably the BEST dietitian in the state. What I love most is how much time he spends personally with me in his office and that he is that way with everyone. He does the bypass, the sleeve, and the band and has a great follow up practice, including online support, not only thru MFP (my dietitan follows me on here) and a group on Facebook. I could have searched the world over and not found better. Oh, his practice is solely bariatric and he is a center of excellence.

Having your dietitian follow you on MFP is a great idea. I wonder if my surgical group would be open to doing that with their post-op patients. They only have one dietitian on staff, and I'm sure she's extremely busy with all the patients they have.

But while I'm here, I'll mine in. I went to Bluepoint Surgical Group in Northern Virginia for mine. Actually both my wife and I had it done there. They have a team of 4 surgeons, LPN's, dietitians, as well as an exercise coach. They require a six month nutrition plan before submitting to insurance, however for a straight cash plan I think they'll do it right away. They have regular follow up visits, and good support, that's for most people in the area. I'm not sure how they would handle out of area patients.