Shorter waiting periods

Hi all and congrats to those of you doing so well and those having the patience to wait. I am just wondering if anyone has had surgery shortly after the first appointment with Dr. A due to urgent health problems.

I was just reading a woman's post on Dr. A's site where she mentioned that she had had a stroke recently. She is still waiting. There does not appear to be any shortening of the wait period due to health issues. I do know of one person who went to the news about the wait. She got done pretty quickly after that. If you have health conditions the best thing to do in order to get the surgery faster might be to apply for Out of Country surgery. Welcome and good luck Janice B

Thank you I am having trouble comprehending why we can apply for out of country medical to pay for the surgery and MSP won't pay for it in our own province. Or am I misunderstanding this?

Hi Conni, MSP will pay for it in Canada. The problem is that if we wait for our surgery to be done in Canada the wait will be anywhere from 3-5 years. This is not "delivery of medical services in a timely manner" and therefore goes against Health Canada legislation or policy so MSP is approving some applicants for Out of Country surgery which has a possible wait time of approx 3-6 months. Hope this helps. Janice

Thanks Janice I was told that MSP would not pay for the Lap band, but then that was from a layman not the DR.s or MSP. So I will go through the appointments and tests to see what time frame I am looking at. I will definatley concider out of country surgery. If ther is a way to get the surgery faster I am onto it. Thanks Conni

Just to clarify...my comments were only in regards to the RNY. The Lapband is not covered by MSP but it is available here as self pay...and I believe the wait time for that is minimal. On of the nice things about getting all the tests is finding out what the true state of your health is. For a long time I thought I was alot healthier than the tests indicated. And on my first go round with WLS in 97 the endocronologist visit led to them finding out I had thyroid cancer. I can't image what would have happened if I had not been going thru the "tests" to have WLS. Take Care and good Luck. Here's another great website chock full of BC'ers who have had WLS or are waiting for it. www.victoriabariatricsurgery.com Janice B

As you have probably gathered the money is a huge issue for me, but so is loosing the lbs, so my next question is, is the gastric sleeve covered? I am sure I am not alone when I say I am getting very frustrated with MSP. I also had to wait 2 years for a total knee replacement, and after a promise to Interior Health (MSP Okanagan) that I was going to go to the local news about my problem 7 days later I had my surgery. I agreee with you Janice about tests. I have had stomach problems alot in the last few years, but with the barrium swallow they found a very large Hiatus Hernie that will need correcting surgically and it is covered by MSP, so maybe I can convince the DR. to just slip the band on when he is in ther, lol yeah right I know wishful thinking.

The Gastric Sleeve is covered and I have actually met one of Dr. Amson's patients who will be having the sleeve done. But it is a very new surgery type for Dr. A and it comes with what I consider to be a bit more worry due to the increased amount of staple/suture area along the full length of the stomach. Tough choices and lots to learn. Keep me posted on what you decide to do. Janice B.

Hi Connie, I work for a group of bariatric surgeons in Southern California who are very interested in helping Canadian patients apply for and get bariatric surgery in the US. We have 25 years of bariatric experience and are in the begining stages of research to see how we might be able to help Canandian patients. From my limited research, if a patient requests an out of country auth, and there is a surgeon willing to take them, this can be done. Have you spoken to your primary care doctor? Apparently the primary doctor has to fill out the forms for you. Perhaps it would be worth it to speak to your primary care doctor. For more information on our practice, please go to our website at www.smartdimensions.com or call me at 877-HEALTHY Ellen Rohan

Hi Ellen Thanks for contacting me. I am open to any possibility. Do you know of any Canadians who have had MSP pay for thespecifically lap band out of country. I also have to have an old band removed as well as a large hiatus hernia repaired. So far from the message boards I hear that only RNY can be paid for out of country. I don't understand why our medical will pay for the more evasive surgeries that may cause other health issues but not the lap band. Talk about frustration. I will definatley give you a call in the next few days. Thank you Conni