How to get DS after VSG 3 years ago ONTARIO

Hello, I live in Ontario, Canada. I am thinking about a ds, would have to be self pay I guess, since I am no heavyweight. I never reached goal with the vsg, and now I am gaining rapidly. No, no health issues, been checked already several times. How would I go about the cheapest (yet safe of course) way to get a DS done? I had my vsg in Michigan, at Barix.  Thanks!

You need to be referred by a doc to the Bariatric Registry. They will assign you to an assessment centre. Dr. Hong in Hamilton performs the DS.

Thanks! My bmi is only 31 right now, but climbing steadily. I am pretty much not considering help from ohip, I am too far away from the regular criteria, it would have to be self pay. Any ideas on what that costs? Since I have already had vsg, I would only need half a ds surgery, so it could be cheaper than full. I am in Orangeville, Ontario, and would drive up to 10 hours to get to the hospital who can do it for the least $$$. UNLESS people tell me it is the cheapest and fastest to go to Mexico, with a personal recommendation.  THANKS.

The only self-pay option in Canada is Dr. Gagner in Montreal. I hate to tell you, but your surgery is NOT going to be cheaper than a virgin DS. There is a very good chance that you are going to need revision to your sleeve in addition to the 'switch' being done which is actually a more complicated surgery than a virgin DS. But even if you don't need a re-sleeve, the more complicated part of the DS surgery is the switch component and there not being a stomach component only saves about 45 minutes of surgical time - so expect to pay the same as you would for a virgin DS. With Dr. Gagner that is about $19,000. There is only one doc in Mexico qualified to do a DS, Dr. Ungson, but I don't know his rates. I would not go to Mexico for surgery though - the location is not safe and if you suffer complications, OHIP will not cover your out of country costs, and they may deny you certain follow-up care in Canada. It's just not worth the risk. OHIP WILL cover a revision if you regain a significant amount of weight. They are going to look at your original weight in making a determination as well as health issues, not just the weight. If you reach a 35 BMI with co-morbidities, I know they will consider revision and it is worth investigating.

When you say they may consider a revision if I gained enough weight, do you mean for the vsg I already had? Or the DS I want in the future? Something tells me I have not gained enough, but who knows at the rate I am going, it could be much worse soon. I have no health issues other than mental depression, associated with weight gain among other things. I started out at 246 pounds, got vsg, dropped to 150 and stayed there for about 2 years. Now regaining, I am at 178. Thanks so much for all your help and info.

The criteria with OHIP for revision are different and take into consideration your original BMI. If your original BMI was near 50 and you have co-morbids, you could be approved for a DS revision with a BMI as low as 35. I will agree with you though that the chances at your size are quite low. If you have the financial means to self-pay, it will certainly be much faster. I'd encourage you to speak with Dr. Gagner and be very careful about traveling out of country.

Any DS surgeon can add the Switch for you---while technically this would be a revision, in reality it's just a half DS since your stomach won't be touched. Probably your cheapest route would be to contact Dr. Ungson in Mexico.

there is a list of vetted ds surgeons at dsfacts.com. any of the usual usa ds surgeons should be able to convert your vsg to the ds, so you could call their offices to compare prices, and to ask wgether they would accept you at your current bmi.

larra

Thanks everyone. I have contacted Dr. Gagner in Montreal, and have a consult in March. I wonder why there are DS surgeons in Ontario that won't do self pay surgeries. That is too bad. Montreal is 6 hours away from me. But not the worst problem. I think I am afraid of Mexico for a few reasons, so will probably stick to Canada. If my husband approves this cost I will get this done in Montreal. I just hope I am not too light for a DS. I am about 60 pounds overweight.

Thanks again, all who wrote.

How do you feel about Spain? Dr. Baltasar used to have on his website info about doing just the switch, for non-obese diabetics. I think it was less than 10K, but that was a couple of years ago.

I honestly doubt that your Sleeve actually needs to be made smaller. Most DSers, especially those who are 7 or more years post-op, have a larger Sleeve than do people who when with a stand-alone VSG. All of us that I know about are doing just fine with our 'big' Sleeves. (*grin*)