desperate question

Hi all!
     I have a desperate question... I am an Air Force wife and my husband just got orders to Germany. Has anyone out there ever been denied an overseas tour because of your lap band? We are worried they are going to cancel his orders because there may not be a bariatric surgeon to give me aftercare over there.

Jen-

Dr Wiener in Frankfurt is a tricare approved doctor, should not be an issue.
http://www.profweiner.com/about_us.htm

Thank you for Dr. Weiner's info. According to our medical clearance liason, I guess they consider this physician too far from where we will be stationed Stuttgart) , therefore he would not be able to service me . Getting kind of worried they will not approve my husband's assignment :( Thank you for responding.

Jen-

I am German, Stuttgart is about 2 hrs or 200 km from Stuttgart. I drive 50 miles to Orlando. 130 miles is nor very far for American standards. We spend 20 years in the Army, unless rules have changed a lot in the last 12 years or so, I don't think the military will give your hubby a hardship exemption. I suggest getting on the Stuttgart website and finding the local clinic, I would ask locally, there are lots of German doctors within the tricare system that are not known here. There was a lady on here who's husband was stattioned in Hohenfels that's almost 300 kms. She had the band done by wiener.

http://www.gastriccenter.de/obesity

Here's an example... Lapband in German  is Magenband. Good Luck. Most Germans speak English, you should have no problems going local and finding out

Thank you so much for the information! I will have to forward this to my people and see if they are on the list of approved Dr's.

Jen-

I know we have quite a few service family people on here, based in different countries. And the band is done all over Europe so there are plenty of exerienced bariatric surgeond over here.

Kate

Thanks for responding Kate! I agree that there are probably some very good surgeons over there. In fact, I looked some up directly in the area we will be in, however they aren't Physicians that are in my insurance's network. Therefore I they won't pay for me to go to them. There is no way they will even let us go over there if they don't have an "approved" bariatric surgeon in my area. Sometimes insurance companies don't make any sense to me.

Jen-

Can you take out separate travel insurance? In the UK we don't have to get general medical insurance because of our health service but if we travel we take out travel medical insurance ( we don't need it ourselves for Germany as we get free care in all EU countries).

Kate