Self-Pay Options in Canada/States.

Hi,

I had RNY 7 years ago and now my wife is interested in having it done.

My surgery was covered by insurance in California.  Since then we have moved to N. Alberta(Peace Country area) and was looking for a doctor who does RNY for patients who are willing to self-pay. 

I am not really comfortable with going to Mexico or out of Canada/States for the surgery.  Does anyone have any good recommendations for me?

Thanks in advance!

Sorry I cannot answer your questions but while you are searching she may wish to get your name on the list for the weight wise clinic. It may help her in the long run. The wait is long...but the process of self discovery is amazing.
Welcome to the board and Alberta

Dr Farries in Red Deer and Dr. Nohr in Medicine Hat I think ,also do the bypass but you have to get on their waiting list and self pay is not an optionas far as I know.

There are clinics in Quebec and Ontarion who will do self pay.

Weight Wise in Edmonton is about our only ither option in the province and I agree that even though the wait list is long, it is a good program.

If you are thinking of going south, I would recommend Dr. Robin Blackstone at the Scottsdale Bariatric Center in Arizona .  It is a center of excellence and she is a very respected surgeon who only does bariatric surgeries. A bit pricey though especially with the Canadian dollar so low.

Eydie

Why is the wait so long. . .even for self pay in Canada?. You might want to look into www.drhoracio.com  

Best of luck!

The weight is not long for self pay within Canada....I got into the Montreal hospital very quickly...only a few months.

I understand for lap banders the same goes in Ontario.  But if your wife isn't covered by AHC in general yet as you moved from the States and you have to self pay, Montreal is the only option for RNY that I am aware of.  Toronto just does banding I think.

hereis what i have found:

False Creek in BC = sleeve &lapband 13-18000
Winnepeg - lapband  18000
Toronto area 3 differnt clinics  13-24000 depending on procedure
montreal - 20000

Because you live in Alberta none of this is covered by healthcare and most likely not by you insurance either because it is available in our province.

I have also found a few in the US
Great Falls MT - 14-20000
Oregon - 17-24000
Nevada - 19000 and up

Hope this helps

I had my surgery (laparoscopic gastric bypass) at The Centre Métropolitain de Chirurgie in Quebec by Dr. Nicholas Christou.  Amazing surgeon.  I was self-pay.  I believe his standard wait time is 6 weeks.  I paid $18,500.00.  I had all of my pre-op tests done here in Calgary.  If you would like any other information, just send me a message.

i know you arnt interested in the us but there is a dr pletman in bloomfirld michigan that has resonable rates or dr cristo in quebec good luck

I just have to stress that being self-pay, particularly when you are provinces away from your surgeon is not a fantastic solution.

Surgeons who didn't do the surgery don't want to touch you, many GPs are not familiar with the post op complications and risks and followup support is very difficult via the Net. Wait times in the ER are long if you are having dehydration issues or scar tissue build up that is interferring with eating.

Alberta programs such as Weight Wise - where all of the government's resources to battle obesity seem to be going - will not help you either because you self paid and did not have the surgery in Alberta.

Some think this is fair...I don't...but no matter  - this is the reality. 

As your wife will have you to help her this will be a huge plus though.  I wish that I hadn't been so ill post op that I could have reached out to this board sooner or found someone who knew what was happening when I dropped 70 pounds in just a few months and couldn't keep a teaspoon of food down...it was the worst time of my life. I literally wanted to die.

Please let us know how you are doing.