??'s about lap doctors!

My sister is wanting to have the lapband done.She has military insurance;which they are very good at paying without trouble.I need to know if anyone knows of Dr. who perform lapband.I know Lavin doesn't.Thanks

Margaret, I have Tricare (military insurance) also. In all of my research and numerous calls to them I've gotten a firm "no" when it comes to lap-band surgery. The explaination I was given was that it's too new and requires too many revisions. (I have 3 friends with lap-bands, and all 3 have had to have surgery again to correct slippage- different docs also). They will cover lap RNY and open RNY gastric bypass. I have come across one person on this website who claims that she has Tricare and had lap-band surgery in '02 and they covered it. There has been no one else though. I was originally given Dr. Todd Belott's name when I contacted Tricare. I scheduled an appointment with him, but his office called back the next day to tell me that lap-band surgery was not covered. I'm now trying to get approval for lap RNY with Dr. Ruary O'Connell who is in the same practice with Dr. Belott. I wish your sister the best of luck, and just maybe she can convince them to cover it. Lisa

Call DR. Daniel Scott at Tulane Hospital. He does the lap band surgery and his staff call answer all your question

Dr. Scott does not accept Tricare (military insurance). I work with him in the OR at Tulane. I do not recommend his program at this time. For more information as to why I do not recommend it, read my profile. He is a wonderful surgeon, but his nurse coordinator is losing patients for him.

He has a new nurse coordintor as of about the past 2 or 3 months. I like this one much better. The one he had just had a baby and I hope she doesn't come back. Arlene

Hi Margaret, I had lap band surgery at Ochsner in New Orleans and my surgeon was Dr. Kennedy, she and her entire staff are great..Melissa in her office can answer questions about insurance. Hope this helps your sister.. Dee

My Surgeon, Dr. Keith Chung, in Lake Charles is in network with Tricare and he offers the Lap Band and the Gastric Bypass. Just another option. Good Luck.

Hello Margaret, I have very little advice, sorry. I do highly recommend the lapband surgery and lifestyle, but my surgeon's office is not in-network for Tricare. (I called before posting) There was one lapband-bashing post here and I do respect everyone's opinion, but I would suggest your sister speak to lap band patients directly or spend some time on the lap band forum here to get her own impression of the procedure. I know several people who have had the procedure and none of them have had slippage (different doctors). Fact is, there are risks and revisions with all these surgeries and it has to be an individual decision based on the needs and lifesytle of the patient. I wish I could recommend Dr. Karl LeBlanc, but I would agree with what I've seen in this thread about Dr. Scott (issues in the office -- major!) and Dr. Chung (awesome individual and skilled surgeon). There are some good options in the Slidell and New Orleans area and I'm sure she will find someone good for her. If she needs more background on the lap band or would like an opinion on the lifestyle, she can email me here or read my blog at: http://francesspencer.blogspot.com I'm no overnight success and I've hit some related and unrelated bumps in the road, but it's all there first-hand. All my best, Frances

Why do you say that Lavin doens't do the LapBand? He did my RNY but I initially wanted the LapBand. He was going to do it. My insurance wouldn't cover the LapBand b/c it was deemed "expirememtal." After going in and talking to Dr. Lavin again, I decided to do the RNY and knowing what I know me for "ME" this was the better choice. There is more information about this on my profile. Dr. Lavin is a national proctor on laprascopic gastric surgeries be it LapBand or RNY. He also lists that as a procedure he does on his website www.whyweight.com If he is no longer doing it, I'd love to know why if you know or find out. Thanks and best to you and yours, ~Vanessa~