DS surgeon in Nashville?

Hello everyone I am new to this site. I also have coverage through The State of Tennessee. Has anyone obtained approval yet for surgery? I understand one of the steps is having a doctor supervised diet. Who are the doctors that are covered under this plan? I am thinking about the DS surgery. I need to know if we have a doctor that is participating that does this procedure. So far I only know of Dr. Husted. I went to the seminar and he seems very knowledgable? Any information would be appreciated.

Hey Eve, I just looked at your profile and from what I've read a lot of people who have a lot higher BMI than you usually undergo the DS surgery. I don't know if the surgeon you choose will recommend that procedure for you or not. I'm in the process of getting approved through Centennial. They have a wonderful program, www.cmcwls.com Anyways, I work for the state and have Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO. Dr. Husted is considered out of network and would cost more $$$ I thought I read somewhere that he isn't involved in any in-network plans?? But BC/BS doesn't specifically require a 6 month dr. supervised diet; however they do say that there has to be an attempt at conservative management of weight loss within the past two consecutive years. When I decided to have surgery back in June, I was with Aetna HMO through the state and they did require a 6 mo. dr. supervised diet. So I finished my diet at the end of December not really loosing much and then switched my insurance in January; hoping for a better chance at getting an approval. So we'll see. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. There is a great group of people here! Good Luck! April

If your coverage is the Cigna plan, Dr. Husted's hospital is not in their network, so you'll be paying a lot of out-of-pocket costs. I don't think Husted is in their network, either, but I can't remember. If you have the stat's BC/BC plan, then you'll be okay. I had to switch to Vanderbilt when I changed over to the state's Cigna insurance on January 1. I'm using Dr. Torquati. So far, so good.

Thanks Kim I have the Cigna HMO. Does your doctor do the DS procedure? I am not trying to have a lot of cost?

Being with the state my bcbs pos changed to cigna. I had my surgery before the change at Vanderbilt. Dr. Willie Melvin. He's great and so is the staff... I think Vanderbilt is also in the Cigna network.. Good luck

Thanks Kip, I checked with Vanderbilt and no one there does the Duodenal Switch procedure. How is you lap working?