Where to Begin

I am looking into what is available in Alberta, and have found nothing until this Forum. I am of course looking to possilby have the weight loss surgery, if I can find out more about it. I had an email from Ontario informing me of the $16,000 charge for lap band surgery. Is that what I am looking at here at home as well? Does Alberta health cover this? I am south of Calgary, but it seems you must travel to Edmonton or Red Deer, is there nobody in the Calgary area? Any information would be really appreciated. Thanks

Hello there I too am new to this journey, the only Dr. in Calgary that does anything like this is Dr. Mitchell. He only does the lap band. I am seeing my family Doctor on Dec. 5 and am hoping for a referal to Dr. Farries in Red deer. Will keep posted. I believe if you are eligible for the surgery Alberata Health will pick up the bill. I live just north of Calgary and find it inconvient to travel out of town for this too, but am willing to sacrifice if it helps.

Hi Debbie: There is Dr. Nohr in Medicine Hat that does bypass surgery as well. There is supposed to be a program starting in Calgary but I don't have any details. I heard that there were 25 lapbands to be done this year as a pilot project. You should check with your family Dr. and he/she might be able to get you some info on the Calgary program. Alberta Health care does cover WLS including lapband. As far as driving to Edmonton it is a inconvenience but for me it was/is well worth the time/expense of knowing that my surgeons(Dr. Davey/Birch) are very experienced and the whole clinic is experienced with WLS issues. As well they were the only clinic doing lapband surgery when i started the program 2.5 yrs ago. If/when Calgary gets going into a regular program I'm sure they will do fine job as well.

Thanks for replying so quickly. When I talked to my family doctor who just happens to be new to Calgary, she only knew of Dr. Norh in Medicine Hat. Do you know where we can get the request forms for the referral. Do I call them directly or does my doctor do this. I just wanted to do as much as possible for myself, so every doctor involved can see that this is very important to me. Everybody has such high praise for their surgeons, It seems like they are all very equal. Red Deer or Edmonton would be my preference if I can't find this Dr. Mitchell in Calgary. Thank you so much for replying.

Hi Debbie I too have been looking at my options, I live in Airdrie and was hoping not to travel out of town. But the there is only a couple of Dr.s that do this surgery in Calgary and they only do the lap band. I am going to try to get on with Dr. Farries in Red Deer he does the Rny which I personally think is better after a lot of research. Dr. Jean-Gaston Descoteaux does the lap band in Calgary also,he has a two week waiting period to see him after your referal. Have your doctor send the referal form to him. You have to phone this number and have it faxed to your doctors office for them to fill out. #943-2673 (referal form) Dr. Descoteaux's # is 220-2859 if you a have any questions i guess phone them. Hope this has been some help. Good luck on your journey. BJH

Hey BJ: Great info on the Calgary Drs. Could I ask you to repost this info on a new thread as more people will see. Great job and good luck with Dr. Ferris. There is many of his patiences on the westcan and edmonton yahoo boards. You should check em out if you haven't already. If you have trouble finding them let me know and i will give you the links. Terry

Dr. Davey and/or Dr. Birch - 1-403-735-5620 they work together in Edmonton, and Dr. Davey does it through Bonnyville as well, which I hear is a shorter wait. Medicine Hat Dr. Nohr 1-403-502-8936 Red Deer - Dr. Farries - 1-403-347-9037 Calgary - Dr. Phillip Mitchell - 1-403-264-6720 (lap band)