Insurance Denied

Thought I had pretty good insurance, esp. since my husbans is a physician - but there are fewer than 50 people in his group, so WLS is an exclusion. SOoooooo, I am going to have to self-pay and am considering Mexico. has anyone had Lapascopic RNY in Mexico? What do you do about follow-up visits, issues, nutritionists, etc? Thanks. n

Nancy, Sorry to hear about your insurance. I don't have any at all, so I know how you feel. Check out my profile. Best wishes, Kina 220/160/130

I had Dr. Rumbaut for lap RNY in Monterrey. Although he is the most exoensive in Mexico, he is well worth it. Not once did I ever feel unsafe, and the hospital San Jose is immaculate! I did belong to our local WLS program, and have several friends who have had their surgeries here. The follow up for RNY is easy, a few visits with the nurse practitioner and nutritionist, lab work at 3 months and then yearly after that. Most PCP's can do the labs and weight checks for you. My PCP also had a nutritionist on staff, but because I know the post-op diet well, am still losing weight and my labs are fine, he doesn't feel I need the nutritionist at this point. If there is issues that arise, such as poor labs or weight gain, I'll see the nutritionist. Lap band follow up is much more difficult to find here in the states. Many people are finding "fill docs" in the southern part of the country. For me way up here in New England, the one lap band hospital close to me would not touch a Mexican band. As for complications, one of my incisions got mildly infected, I was able to send a pic via email, and got in touch with one of Dr. R's residents within 3 hours for a little advice. I'm also a nurse, so I didn't freak out too much, but they do the best they can from Mexico! As for other major complications that might require reoperation, you need to make sure you have a local hospital that does RNY, and has a surgeon familiar with RNY, just in case. My local hospital does RNY and is a non-profit hospital. I know if I have a major complication that cannot be dealt with by my PCP, I can go to her and she cannot refuse to care for me. Non-profit hospitals cannot refuse to care for someone based on their financial or insurance status. The only way they can refuse is if they are not familiar with RNY, and that's not true in my case. Anyway, you will not go wrong choosing Dr. Rumbaut. I wish you the best of luck in your search! Bonnie