Duodenal Switch in Ontario????

Has anyone had the DS in Ontario, Canada? If so, was it covered by OHIP? Where was it and who was the doctor? 

 if you go back to 4  or 5 pages on this forun someone posted they were approved for DS in Ontario. good luck Manitobans can't get it. I am going to Mexico self pay.

 Thanks for this information. It is very helpful.  I have sent a friend request to Pat as well.

I am a Canadian who had the DS surgery perfomed in Bloomsfield MI in August 2005 by Dr. Lutrzykowski.

I was approved by OHIP for out of country coverage to have a gastric bypass at St. Vincent's in Manhatten but cancelled my surgery a week prior to the scheduled surgery date. 

Instead I opted for the DS after a great deal of research and several consultations with different surgeons specializing in the DS.

My one caution for anyone thinking of having the surgery in Ontario is to research how  many DS surgeries the Ontario surgeon has performed and  his/her track record (complications? deaths?)

People pay a lot of money, out of pocket, for plastic surgery following bariatric surgery but won't consider the value in selecting the BEST surgeon one can afford who specializes in the DS.  I know of folks who have negotiated to have the DS surgery in the US for between $15 to $20K USD (although the average cost to OHIP was $35K CDN).

Not wanting to worry anyone unnecessarily  but there is so little info available in Canada about the DS ... my family doctor, the surgeon who performed my colonoscopy , and many other doctors I've interacted with, had never even heard of the DS. 

Good luck.  The DS is a wonderful surgery!  

 

Thanks so much for replying to my request for information. Every piece of info I get is greatly accepted. The people on this forum are so generous, it is quite heartwarming.

   As stated Dr. Hong is the only surgeon in Ontario that does the DS.  I am not sure how many he has performed, or what his track record is.

I did meet with him last summer where he approved my request for a the second stage of the DS, however I politely requested Dr. Gagner in Montreal due to his experience with revisions as well as complicated cases.  Due to my higher weight & BMI I am considered a complicated case.

So essentially Ontarians have two options, Dr. Hong or Dr. Gagner (the latter might not be available or rather an "easy" option to obtain).

Oddly though OHIP/MOH transferred me back to Toronto Western Hospital for post-op care, which sort of baffles me as they don't perform the DS.  They did it for the geographical location (an hour away from TWH as opposed to 2 hours for St. Joe's), but when I was at St. Joe's they said they were looking to work with Dr. Gagner to establish a tailored program for DS patients as they are beginning to do that surgery more.

At any rate I just wanted to state there is two options.

 Thanks so much for this information. It all helps.