Puget Sound Surgical

Hi there

Has anyone heard of Puget Sound Surgical Clinic in Washington State?  I am thinking about going down to see about them.  I want the laproscopic bypass.  A friend went to Salt Lake City and was so thrilled, but I hesitate to go so far from home.

I was supposed to be on the waitlist for the Drs. in Victoria..and just found out I waited a year for nothing as the Dr. here forgot to put in the referral.

If anyone has any info, I would appreciate it.

Thanks
Carole

Hi Carole,

If you have a BMI over 50, you can apply for what is called "Out of Country " surgery.  MSP will cover it and you are allowed to choose your surgical center. 

Providing you meet the criteria, you might want to contact Sim White from this board, or Ruth (aka Arizona or Zona)  from  www.bb.wlsforum.net  .  It is a very informative site and is a board made up of primarily people from BC who are somewhere in the process of having had surgery or waiting for surgery with any of a number of doctors and procedures.  There is a ton of good information to be found there.  There is another forum called www.blazeonline.com/wls  that is also a community of people from primarily BC but who are either waiting for surgery with Brad Amson or who have had surgery with him.  You will also find others there, but again, the focus is on primarily Amson's surgical patients. 

Thank you soo much Ruby_Trout.  The info is great and I didn't know about the over 50 BMI.  I really appreciate it very much.

Linxey, if you meet the criteria, I would highly recommend out of country surgery as it will take a lot less time.  I have heard good things about Virginia Mason.  There are several doctors there that people who have already gone out of country would recommend. 
See your doctor about an out of country application.  If s/he will not support this, FIND a doctor who will!  It will be well worth it. 

Ruby,

I have already come to the realization that the surgery will be out of country.  Like I said, I heard great things about Salt Lake Centre, however, it is so far away and that makes me nervous.  I would be okay with Washington state as I could drive there and have someone come with me without too much added expense.

Thanks for all your ideas.

Hi Carole:

I just had the surgery done in Toronto on the 23rd of April with Dr.Mumford and I was able to have my surgery within a month of the consultation. Since my BMI was under 50 and I didn't want to do the 4 year wait for the Victoria surgeons, I decided to self pay. I found there are two highly recommended clinics in Toronto. www.swlc.com and www.slimband.com.

I was fortunate as my cousin lives in Toronto and was able to recover with family before heading home. I still can't believe that I have done this and am looking forward to the journey. Good Luck to you.

Cheers,
Eleanor

Thanks Eleanor.

I have a BMI over 50...Do you have any idea what I need to do about trying to get pre-approved for payment.  I will pay on my own if I have to, but might as well try to get this paid.

Does anyone know what my first move is?  I have a GP appt in 3 weeks and want everything organized before I go.

Congrats to you Eleanor and it's so exciting about the future.

Thanks
Carole

Hi Carole
Yes, indeed, I have not only heard of them, but its where I went for my surgery.  They are top notch.  I would hightly recommend one of their information sessions.  (they schedule info sessions here in the lower mainland from time to time.) 
The two surgeons are truly fantastic - skilled, competent, and very caring.
They do all types of WLS.
The patient co-ordinator is Kairn.  Tell her I said "hi."
Good luck to you,
Judy

I've heard of them and I was thinking of going to check them out as the waitlist in BC is soooooo Long.  My Doctor agreed to sign an Out Of Country Application for me to have surgery there but he mentioned that most of the time msp does not approve these applications.  He mentioned you have to be close to deaths door before they approve.

HI Lorieann

I went to a info session and have an appt with one of the surgeons in 2 weeks in Bellingham.  I am not going to go the route of MSP because I understand it can take years, and I can't wait years anymore.  I'm going to go for it and deal with the $$ later.

So, you should check the info sessions out.  I went to one in White Rock last week.  However, I had already done so much research they could tell me nothing new.  Someone from work also went to an info session and is having surgery there.