CAPITOL DIST HELP ........ALBANY, AMSTERDAM, ETC HAVE ?'S

Hello all.. !! I LIVE IN PERTH, & I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START ON THIS JOURNEY... I SEE MY PCP IN 13 DAYS FOR A REFERRAL SOMEWHERE. I HAVE MVP INS. DOES MVP COVER DS SURGERY? AND WHO WOULD I SEE REGARDING THAT SURGERY IN THE AREA? DOES ALBANY MED DO DS OR JUST ROUX -N Y? I GET A FULL PHYSICAL WHEN I SEE MY PCP IN 13 DAYS WHAT SHOULD I BE ASKING HIM? I HAVE NO CLUE HOW TO PROCEED, WHAT STEPS DO I 1ST NEED TO TAKE, & HOW LONG FROM REFERRAL, TO APPROVAL AND A SURGERY DATE... I HONESTLY WANT THIS DONE BY SUMMER AND IS THAT A REALISTIC TARGET DATE? THANKS..RAE

Hi Rae, I had the RNY open surgery with Dr. Rosati at Albany Medical Center. I'm fairly sure he does the DS surgery, but he only does open surgeries. Dr. Singh at Albany Med is the Laproscopic surgeon, but I'm not sure if he does DS or not. Best to call (AMC main number is 262-3125, can't remember the office number but if you ask for the Bariatric program they'll patch you through). As far as insurance, just call MVP and ask. As for surgery date, AMC bariatric program requires a 10% pre op MD supervised weight loss. That can take time. Once you've lost the 10%, then you get scheduled to meet with the surgeon. Once you meet with the surgeon, it's generally 4-6 weeks until surgery. They require a multitude of clearances such as psych, cardiology, vascular, etc. It's a process Rae and it takes time. It's worth the time it takes. They are very experienced, throrough, and highly skilled. You will be in excellent hands, but it is a lengthy process, so just put one foot in front of the other and learn as you go. It will only serve to reinforce your success post op. This surgery is NOT a quick fix. It is a tool and after a honeymoon period of about 6-8 months post op, weight loss levels out and the real work begins. If you want to email me, I can send you a bunch of links for research and learning about this surgery that an OH friend sent to me when I was where you are. Learn as MUCH as you can. Let me know if I can help you further and welcome to the boards! Hugs and well wishes, Amy

I can tell you from very recent personal experience that nobody within 2-3 hours does DS. if either Dr Lirio's group (at Ellis) or Dr Singh's group (at Albany Med) does it NOW, I'd get specifics as to WHO is doing the DS.... is it one of the existing docs? if that's the case, they're REAL NEW at it and I might be a little extra cautions. or is it a doc that was recently hired on who moved from another area? if that's the case, find out as much history on them as you can. neither Ellis OR AMC offer the DS. to get DS, your choices are Adirondack Medical Center up in Saranac, or one of a handful of bariatric groups down in NYC. I live right here in Schenectady... had the DS on 11/14 down at Lenox Hill Hospital in NYC. My DS was performed by Dr Shah at http://www.nomoreobesity.com I don't think it's so much whether MVP covers DS.... these days, if they cover RNY you should be able to fight (if they TRY to say no) and get the DS covered as well... there's MORE than enough documentation out there to disprove any claim of "Experimental" or "investigational" (common reson for attempted denial of DS by insurance companies.) I think to get it done by summer is totally reasonable, even with the possibility of having to appeal a denial. My process (from actual paperwork start) was about 2 months from orientation to surgery. best of luck... and if you have any other questions, feel free.

me again... just wanted to add, if you have any DS specific questions, I think there's no better place for input than the DS board right here on OH. Good luck

No AMC/Ellis do not do DS and I was not aware that Saranac did? That is news to me...Probably need to go to NYC for a surgeon adn go to one w lots of experience! Cornell/Gagner does it lap! He is quite the expert. Here are some sites: http://www.duodenalswitch.com/ http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/DS/ http://www.bodybybaltasar.com/html/body_dr__baltasar.html http://www.dssurgery.com/documentview.php?docID=12 http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/duodenalswitch/ Call MVP have them send a copy of your policy in regards to bariatrics/wls exclusions etc. criteria... Everyone's program is differnt and journey as well, for some it is years, for others typical 3mo, I beleive a good 6mo is a necessary time to prepare and educate self... Take Care, Jamie 100cm proximal Lap RNY 10/9/02 Dr. Singh Albany, NY 320(preop)/163 (lowest)/174 (current) 5'9'' (lost 45# before surgery) Plastics 6/9/04 & 11/11/2005 Dr. King www.albanyplasticsurgeons.com http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/jamiecatlady5/ "Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect, it just means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections!"