out of country application and approval

Hi everyone, Happy New Year and all the best to in 2007! I got Dr. Menegehtti to sign my MSP application and I was able to get a copy of all my pre-op tests that have been done. I have been lucky up to this point as I do not have any co-morbidities YET. However, I did see a specialist at the UBC sleep disorder clinic on Dec. 18th and he wants me to do the sleep apnea test where I stay over night. After truthfully answering the questions he gave me, it has made me think that I may have sleep apnea. The earliest they can get me in for the overnight test is Feb 2nd but they will call me if there any cancellations which happen frequently they told me. Dr. M told me that they like to approve people who have less risk than those who have many complications. I also heard that Victoria ( MSP) has put together some kind of fast track system for people who need the surgery asap due to health problems. Has anyone had any experience or know anything about this? My question to you guys out there is: Do I send in my application for MSP out of country funding now with what I have. I have written a nice long letter explaining my weight problems I have had my whole life, etc. along with the tests results. OR do I wait to see what will happen with the sleep apnea test. They told me it will take another 6-8 weeks to get back the results so it would be spring before I would apply then, and I am so scared that the longer I wait the more problems that start to resurface plus nwho knows if MSP will allow applications to be sent in. If MSP does not fund me, I am going to self pay and go to Montreal where Dr. Christou will do the surgery. Has anyone heard about him? I feel more comfortable staying in Canada rather than going to the US as what happens if there are any complications over in the US, it could mean thousands of more dollars and I heard of people who got sick in the US and had to pay so more and almost lost their house. Quebec has so many people waiting for the WLS, just like here that they decided to open up a private clinic where out of province patients can get the surgery by self paying with no wait times. Agian Dr. Christou does the procedures there too. At least I would be in the same country and maybe I could get supplementary insurance ? I don't have any pre-exisiting conditions so I think the insurance compnay can;t deny me coverage? Not sure, I'll have to look into it. I'm just weighing my options. My family refuses to support me going to Mexico, although I have told them all the good things about there and sent them emails from many people talking about Dr. Rambaut. Any advice for me please Thanks so much Sim from Vancouver

Hello Sim Hope you had a good Christmas and New Years. If you wait til after your sleep apnea test results are in then you will have further proof of your need for the surgery. If you submit without them you might get turned down and then you would have to go thru the appeal process. From what I gathered in reading the Ontario board they tend to think it is better to not have to go thru the appeal process and they (the members on the Ontario OH Board) usually advise new people to wait and send in their app when they have all the results. If it was me I would wait...very impatiently. Christou is a well known surgeon. I have seen him on TV and on the internet in video's. I have my fingers crossed for you that you get the oocountry approval and hopefully save yourself thousands of dollars. Good luck and keep us posted. Janice

Hi Sim I'm in Toronto and have decided on the DS out of country. I hope to move to Victoria, BC later this year and wondered about access to DS in BC. From your post it sounds like you are doing as bad as us in ON. Dr. Christou has recently made the decision to no longer accept patients outside of Quebec. In fact I am aware of one lady from ON who was booked with him, did all her preop stuff and had flown her mom in from out west for the surgery. On the DAY of surgery the hospital told her she was no longer a candidate. Nobody had even taken the time to call and tell her about the changes and she was out of pocket significantly for airfare, hotels, time off work, etc. She is seeking legal advice. For myself I am going to use Dr. Gagner who works out of a major hospital in New York. He is French Canadian and was trained in Montreal. He is considered one of the leading experts in the DS If I lived out west, I would probably go to the Rabkins in California. Their reputation is top notch. I am not aware of anyone other than Christou doing the DS in Canada. The two doctors in ON who did it retired years ago and I think there was somone in the prairies who has retired as well. In ON OHIP pays the full costs except for travelling, hotel costs. Of course those can be used as tax deductions. All pre-op tests have to be done in Canada otherwise they are out of pocket. My apologies if you are aware of all of this as this is my first visit to your boards. I was wondering how big of a WLS/DS community there might be in Vancouver/Victoria. Thanks Paula

Dear Paula, Thank you for your post. Yes, as far as I know there are no surgeons doing the DS here in BC . A few people that posted on here went down to the US for it. There is a really large support forum to talk and ask questions on Dr. Amson's message board- go on victoriabariatricsurgery.com. There may be a few others who have had DS and could answer your question. As for Dr. Christou, I don't understand this. I just called them last week and was told that due to the huge waitlist in Quebec, they opened up a private hospital to take in out of province people ONLY who are willing to self pay. I was told it would cost $18,500 for RNY laproscopic. Why would they say that if it were not true? They also said there is no wait time. As you must know, there are only 2 doctors doing the WLS in Victoria and there is about 684 patients waiting. It takes anywhere from pre consult wait of 2 years for the 1st appt to another 2-4 years to get called, but don't quote me on that. Everyone says tthe wait time is varied and does not make sense half the time. At least in Ontario they are sending lots of people out of country down to Barix, etc. I wish I lived there right now. I am a fan of the Ontario message board and read their posts quite often. Here in BC getting approval to go out of country is limited and rare. I am going to try in the next few months to send my application for out of country and if I am not successful I will be going elsewhere, in which case I will then have to make a big decision. Thank you for your info. Take care Sim

The gal in ON had paid her money too. I don't think she posts anymore on the ON board but if you are so inclined you could search that site and see if her posts come up and then you could private email her. I just know she would never recommend anyone go there after her snafu. I was also surprised that he made her pay everything upfront. I would be warry. Paula

Dear Paula, Thank you so much for the info. I called his office and spoke to Mary his assistant. They are doing the surgeries in a private clinic not a private hospital anymore and you have to stay there 3 days before they discharge you. They make you stay about 2 weeks before you can fly home. So I would have to stay in a furnished place or something rather than a hotel as it would be cheaper I think. I will email the Ontario board and see what happens. I was not afraid to ask about the money and when I did, she did not respond? I will be very leary of this and would refuse to pay all my money up front anyway. But it does not make any sense as he could get into big trouble and why would he do that, I have heard nothing but great things about him. It would ruin his reputation. Thanks again Sim