Advice Please? God has sent me an Angel!

Ok so I need some advise from you guys. God has sent me an Angel to pay for my surgery:) I am so excited but scared at the same time, and so confused about what I need to do. Who do I choose to do my surgery? Things of that nature ya know.  I know I am a candidate for the surgery , I am positive of that. Now I have to find a surgeon. Who do yall recommend. I don't want to sound like a cheap butt, lol but I am trying to get this done at a reasonable price I mean my angel is paying for this.  Do yall know what the cash pay price is for any of the surgeons? How much does everything cost a grand total.( The hospital, the surgeons bill, the psych evaluation and lab tests)? How long would it be before I could possibly get it done? I would like to stay in or around the Covington, Baton Rouge, New Orleans area when making my surgeon choice. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Please keep me in your prayers also.

My surgeon's website is www.whyweight.com.  I am a cash pay patient.  The first few appts, I paid nothing but $200...150 for appt and 50 for the psych test.  I then paid right before surgery and again, nothing for follow-up.  And better than the financial situation, I have not had one interaction with anyone in the practice since I started that process that I have not been completely satisfied!  I highly recommend this practice.

Kisha,
I highly recommend Dr. Thomas Lavin.  I think he is the best bariatric surgeon in La.  He has an office in Covington and Metairie.  Good luck!!

My surgeon is better than your surgeon.


Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Dianna,
I work for Ochsner and I still think Dr. Lavin is the best. 

You've been given some excellent advice here. These are tried and trusted surgeons. I would only add that you research what kind of surgery would be best for you. There are about 4 that are used now. Learn as much as you can about each of them. You don't want to regret your choice of surgery after it's done.

Good luck to you. You are on the road to an awesome new beginning.

I had a VSG on 7/16/08 and have been very pleased with the care I received.  Dr. Drake Ballenger performed the surgery at St Elizabeth's in Gonzales.  I stayed one night in the hospital.  The staff there was great!!  I was also a self pay and the total cost was $13,450.00.  This included everything, psych. eval, lab tests,hospital cost, surgeon cost and follow up visits. I would highly recommend Dr. Ballenger & staff.  He also operates at the Lady of the Lake Hospital.

Hello Kisha,

I'm very happy for you and you have received some excellent advice. One correction, Dr. Bellanger practices at St. Elizabeths and Woman's Hospital in Baton Rouge, not Our Lady of the Lake.

Drs. LeBlanc and Hausmann are at The Lake and Woman's.

I would recommend going to a few seminars and comparing plans and options. What goes in the "grand total" can greatly vary -- some doctors bill as much to insurance as they can in the testing and others give you "one amount."

The good news is that you are surrounded by excellent centers. I'm not recommending my doctors because I don't think you need to travel all the way to Baton Rouge to get quality care or a good price.

Consider travel to and from the doctor for surgery and aftercare. GAS should be a major factor. It doesn't costs me a tank a gas to go into Baton Rouge and I still sometimes nix trips or wait until I can combine my tasks into one trip. Considering fuel costs, you should pick someone who you can get to easily for planned and unplanned visits.

Wishing you well,
Frances

Kisha, I had my surgery in Baton Rouge with Drake Bellanger in May. I had the sleeve. The total cost for everying was around $13,000. It covered pre and post op appointments including 2 wk, 6 wk and 6 month follow-up appts, psych eval, clearance from general dr, blood work, urine test, xray, upper GI, ekg, nutritionist, hospital, anesthesia, surgeon, everything (I can't remember what else they did). Their website is www.weightlossbr.com. I am 27 years old and after going thru their seminar I went with this option. He does do the lapband and bypass also. They have support meetings in Baton Rouge every Wednesday night at The Women's Center for Wellness at the corner of Bluebonnet and Jefferson at 6:00pm. Call their office and you should go sit thru their seminar. It's free and you can talk to the doctor about everything. If you want to call me, my number is 225-665-4399 at work. Good luck! --Erica

Wow!  That's great news - some angel you've got there!

You're closer to the Covington/Mandevile area, so Lavin would be a great choice.  He just did my friend's lapband, and he did a great job.  Her recovery time was swift - to say the least.

As for the cost, you're probably looking at $12-15k