Question

Hello,

My name is Jonathan and I live in Ontario, I had the surgery done here back in April of this year and my mother has seen how good I am doing on it and is interested in getting it done.  She lives in Kelowna British Columbia.

I am wondering if anyone could help me with information about how to go about getting surgery done in B.C., what the process is, and what kind of fee's there might be associated with the surgery.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jon

Hi Jonathon:

Your mother should get a referral from her GP to see Dr. S. Sampath, in Richmond, BC.  Check out his website at www.westcoastbariatric.com to see what she needs to get her surgery done for FREE.  His team of specialists are all excellent and he has many patients from all over BC, including Kelowna and Prince George.  He is very accomodating for patients from out of town.  I will be having my surgery on October 3rd.  My first appointment for a consult with him was in mid March, so that is quite fast.  Good luck to both you and your mother.

Barb Friesen

Hi,
My doc is Dr. Nam Nguyen (same office/surgical team as Dr. Sampath) and ditto that this is a great team, supportive, answer questions, etc. I had my surgery done July 28, recovered very quickly and with no problems. Down 23 pounds and feeling just great.
If she is referred by her family doctor, there should be no fees for the surgery as it is covered by MSP (as long as she gets the sleeve or RnY) Band is not covered here in BC though I believe it is in Ont.
She should also enquire with her family doc about Travel Assistance Program. I live on Vancouver Island and TAP pays my ferry fare with car and escort to go to Richmond to see the doctors there and that is a huge help. Not sure how it works on road travel but I think it will cover bus fare etc. She should definitely look into that.

Ditto to what the other ladies have said!!! The team that Dr. Sampath/Dr. Nyguen uses is just fabulous!!!  I am having RNY surgery with Dr. Sampath on October 17 and had my first appointment with him in April.  There are also 3 surgeons in Victoria that do the surgery, but the wait to see them is about the same as in Richmond and their actual surgical wait is quite long (I believe 2+ years).

Someone mentioned the tap forms, they are actually really only good for on the ferry.  If you travel by bus and use one then they will just deduct the cost of the ferry fee from your ticket price, so a small savings.  If she heads to Richmond or Victoria for her surgery and needs to stay in a hotel she should keep in mind that most of the hotels will offer discounts to people that are there for medical appointments and she should tell them that is why she's there when she books her room.

Good luck to your Mother and tell her to come and join us here and ask any questions she may have.

Hi:

Just to update the wait for an appointment is getting a bit longer with the Richmond team.  My GP put a referral in at the beginning of June and I am still waiting for my first appt.  I called the office yesterday and they are now booking into January 2012.  Once you get in and get the ball rolling I think it is much shorter then the Vancouver Island group. Hope this helps.