Help!!

I moved to Central Ca. recently after being banded 2 weeks. I am having a hard time finding a surgeon for fills. Got any suggestions?

Where abouts in central CA are you? I know there are several surgeons in the Fresno area. I believe Dr. Boone and Dr. Higa both at ALSA medical. Good luck to you and welcome to Ca. Sue

If you're on the coast:  Monterey, Salinas, Pacific Grove, Carmel, Seaside, ETC.  Dr Vierra in Monterey would be the best referral, if he's on your insurance plan.

Hi FernTate---I think I am going thru the same as you--- here in Monterey--- going to all the chomp lectures etc---but probably will have to go to Dr. Higa for surgery-----do you know--do we have to start over and go to his lectures etc?  And, I'll be anxious to hear  how all of your steps work out---as I  am following close behind! Best wishes withi everything!

I did the lecture, labs, x-rays, nutritionist and psych eval. in Monterey, for Dr. Vierra.  Then he submitted it and was told he was not on my plan (blue cross), so referred me to Higa.  I was annoyed because it took me from Oct. (seminar at CHOMP) to Dec. to see Higa, then he asked me to come back in January , then in Jan. he saw me and agreed I needed WLS.  Then it took him 2 weeks to submit and be told I needed to go elsewhere.  Then Higa took me 2 months to get in (they took 10 days to even return my phone call).  Higa saw me the end of March, took another week to submit, and I finally just now got my surgery date .  Higa's office didn't even call me at home, instead left a message at work when I'd taken a couple of days off, soooooo, I lost time/surgery dates with that delay as well. What I would do differently; call my insurance and ask for a referral, never would have wasted months on Vierra.  Thank God the workup for Vierra didn't go to waste as Higa accepted it all.  They made me watch a 1 hour video (his seminar) at the first appt..  Vierra will do my aftercare in Monterey which is great as I hate the drive to  Fresno.  Vierra insists Higa is the best.  Otherwise I could have gone closer, to San Jose, and gotten it done much quicker as a friend of mine's son did.  In the end it was my responsibility to have checked with insurance first, but I don't see why Vierra's office refused to chec****il the entire workup was complete. "their policy"  Over 8 months for me from start to finish, when I know it could have been done quicker and with less frustration.  In the long run the delays won't matter I know.  So, it should all go well for you too; we have the two best doctors and that's what really matters.   I'd love to hear about your progress?  Best wishes.  Fern

Hi, depending on where you are in Central CA, there are two great surgeons in Modesto. Dr. Coates and Dr. Corinin - I can't spell his name but they have a web site at www. bariatricsrus.com I believe. Memorial Hospital in Modesto is becoming a hub for the area in WLS.  I am 13 days out and could not have had a better experience with the hosp or the surgeons. Everything went so perfectly and I was treated with care by the staff of the hosp and the surgeons offices. They also have great pre-op and post-op classes and other resources available. The 4 hour pre-op class is loaded with info and on Tuesday I go to the post-op class, I think it is 2 hours but am not sure. Additionally the hosp puts on a support group/informationsal meeting once a month that features speakers for the first hour of the meeting. Once a month they have the initial seminar where you can get all the info on the surgery types, etc and it is a requirement to attend. After attending they will call you for your first appt. I had all my medical records sent to their office before my appt. plus I called them for the info on the psych appt and the nutritionist and had both those appts. completed as well. My ins. approved me in 2 days and the rest is history as they say.  I do know that they are the main guys to go to in this area, Modesto, Stockton, the foothills, etc. The next area is Sacramento which has a large bariatrics group there too.  Hope this helps. Good luck with your search and best wishes!

Hi everyone and thanks for your replys, Doctors seem to have a problem taking patients that they did not operate on. I called Dr Boones and Dr Courins office. They told me they would not take me and told me GOOD LUCK . I have been playing phone tag with Dr Higa's office. Im wondering if I should tell a little white lie and tell them I'm having pain or something. I have a strong feeling they will tell me no as well for the fills. Gosh I hate to think I went through the surgery for nothing. If you know of ANYONE that will do fills on patients that other doctors have done the surgery please let me know. Anywhere from Sacramento to Fresno or Modesto or Even San Francisco. Thanks for any help you can give, I am living near Yosemite National Park.