ALBERTA SURGERY

Hi All

New to the forum. after some research and long chats with hubby, I've decided to get gastric banding surgery, and I'm going to pay for it because it seems that the wait lists in AB are as long as 5yrs. 

 

I'm having a really tough time finding a surgeon in Calgary. Found follow up offices but surgery was in ONT. Any suggestions on how i go about this process would be greatly appreciated. 

And apologies in advance because i;m sure this is a repeat post. 

Thanks All

T

Hi Tara,

WLS (Weight Loss Surgery) is a big under-taking for anyone and it took me a long time to make my decision.

There are lots of people from Calgary on this site, going through previous posts may help find someone you can connect with in your area.

I cannot tell you about surgery you pay for, as I am going through the clinic in Edmonton, but there are several people who have on this site, and they can give you some advise.

The wait time is long, but not that long. I got a referral from my doctor, and got an appointment 3 months later, 6 months of classes and visits and got on the waiting list. This is now up to 9 months. It also gives you time to prepare for the changes that are coming and help you to make those changes permanent long after the surgery.

I suggest you attend an information session on WLS's or do some research, as the lap band can have some complications and is being done less and less by the clinic.

Good luck in your journey.

TT

Thanks so much for the advice. Do you contact info for any of these clinics? I'm really having a tough time finding a place I can go to to speak to someone face to face

 

thanks

t

Before I booked my surgery and headed south I hunted for self-pay options within Canada and found very little. The problem is that if a provincial health service pays for a surgery having that same surgery available for pay is considered "jumping the queue," except in Quebec, where a man took the health care system to court and won the right to pay for timely health care when the public system is unacceptably slow. That's why you can book WLS in Quebec (2 surgeons) with a lead time of about 6 weeks.

Lap band is allowed as self pay in a few places where that province doesn't cover that particular surgery. Many surgeons no longer do the band at all because of a fairly high rate of complications and lesser weight loss results than the other surgeries. I suggest doing some reading on the lap band forum before committing yourself)

All forms of WLS can work well for the right person. All can fail miserably if not the right one for YOU. As the old saying goes,"measure (research) twice, cut once."

Kelly-Anne

Wow I didn't think there would be so much drama about it. A few years ago I did the research and lap banding was definitely considered elective. The only option was bypass and stapling. Both of which I don't feel are options for me. 

Thanks for the advice

T

You should check out the clinic in Red Deer  (fantastic clinic) I had my surgery in Sept this yr (I started at the clinic in Oct 2012) .  

:0)

 

Thanks so much for the reply. You wouldn't happen to have contact info would you?

 

thanks again

T

I was self pay because I did not want to wait and I chose the vertical sleeve gastrectomy.  These are difficult decisions for all of us, but I would recommend looking carefully at all types of surgery in great detail before finalizing band as your choice. As Kelly mentioned, it is by far the most problematic procedure with the lowest weight loss success rate.  In addition, it is the only procedure that  will require additional surgery for replacement of the band in 5-10 years.  Also, finding someone who is skilled at doing fills can be very difficult.  There are very few people anywhere who can do them properly, particularly in Canada, so that is something you want to be very confident about before committing to band procedure.  

If you go on the Alberta Heath Services web site you can get the info on the Weight Wise Clinic in Edmonton. There is also a referral form that you can print off and bring into your family doctor to fill out and refer you to the clinic. The wait time isn't that bad and doing the clinic and classes will be helpful in the long run.

You also have the option to go to the USA or Mexico, many people have found success by going that route.

Like other's have stated the lap band isn't high recommended anymore due to the low weight lose, high regain rate and complications associated with it. I have met many people through weight wise that have had the band which failed them and then had to have it removed and wait 6 months before being able to be revised to either lap band or by-pass.

I personally have the gastric sleeve and love it. It took me a lot of research before I choose the sleeve but at 3 years and 2 months out I still love it and the choice I made.

Good Luck.

Kee.

My wait time for the Edmonton clinic from start to surgery was only one year. I was aiming for lap band too but after talking to many I decided that was not for me. I am very happy with my gastric bypass and Dr. Karmali was a excellent surgeon.,