Ohio surgeons
My research of central Ohio bariatric surgeons:
In prep for WLS I have attended 3 seminars so far. First with Dr. Mobley/Dr Curry's practice. Dr Mobley came to Columbus to present at a local library. If you are leaning to the band, this group seems top notch, however in my case, I want the sleeve, and their office staff seemed less than enthusiastic about my request for help in an appeal process to encourage BC/BS to approve the procedure.
Then I checked out Dr. tele and McGuire in Dayton. This practice has advanced experience with the duodenal switch in addition to the more common WLS, so for complicated cases, I recommend a visit with them.
But I just want a sleeve, so no need to drive to Dayton for me. In Columbus I also visited Dr. myers at Riverside and Dr. Chobley at Mt. Carmel West.
Dr. myers founded the Fresh Start Program and has performed over a hundred sleeve surgeries, in addition to his other WLS credentials.
Dr. Chobley is a leader in her work and has done much to provide national data on WLS to the medical community. However, the doctors in her group do not do the duodenal switch and have only performed one or two sleeve surgeries so far.
So for my case, (which may be different from yours,) my choice of surgeons is down to Dr. Curry or Dr. Myers who both have lots of experience with the sleeve.
Likely it will be Dr Myers. He is located here in Columbus, and so far, his team seems willing to work with my insurance company to get the sleeve approved since I have a need to use NASID meds, and thus am not a good candidate for RNY.
I hope this info is helpful to my fellow seekers on this journey.
Kel
In prep for WLS I have attended 3 seminars so far. First with Dr. Mobley/Dr Curry's practice. Dr Mobley came to Columbus to present at a local library. If you are leaning to the band, this group seems top notch, however in my case, I want the sleeve, and their office staff seemed less than enthusiastic about my request for help in an appeal process to encourage BC/BS to approve the procedure.
Then I checked out Dr. tele and McGuire in Dayton. This practice has advanced experience with the duodenal switch in addition to the more common WLS, so for complicated cases, I recommend a visit with them.
But I just want a sleeve, so no need to drive to Dayton for me. In Columbus I also visited Dr. myers at Riverside and Dr. Chobley at Mt. Carmel West.
Dr. myers founded the Fresh Start Program and has performed over a hundred sleeve surgeries, in addition to his other WLS credentials.
Dr. Chobley is a leader in her work and has done much to provide national data on WLS to the medical community. However, the doctors in her group do not do the duodenal switch and have only performed one or two sleeve surgeries so far.
So for my case, (which may be different from yours,) my choice of surgeons is down to Dr. Curry or Dr. Myers who both have lots of experience with the sleeve.
Likely it will be Dr Myers. He is located here in Columbus, and so far, his team seems willing to work with my insurance company to get the sleeve approved since I have a need to use NASID meds, and thus am not a good candidate for RNY.
I hope this info is helpful to my fellow seekers on this journey.
Kel
Don't know how far it is from you, but I went to the Cleveland Clinic and had Dr. Phil Schauer. I also have BC/BS.
He did the sleeve on me.
The way it was approved was as the first stage of a DS. To bring down the weight to reduce the risks associated with doing a DS. Well, I'm 229 pounds down...so no need for the 2nd stage.
That might be how a lot of them get it approved.
Dr. Schauer had done MANY sleeves, and truely believes in them for many people. He does a lot of publications on them, and encourages their use more than the RNY....
Might be worth checking out. I drove 6 hours to Cleveld to have mine done!
He did the sleeve on me.
The way it was approved was as the first stage of a DS. To bring down the weight to reduce the risks associated with doing a DS. Well, I'm 229 pounds down...so no need for the 2nd stage.
That might be how a lot of them get it approved.
Dr. Schauer had done MANY sleeves, and truely believes in them for many people. He does a lot of publications on them, and encourages their use more than the RNY....
Might be worth checking out. I drove 6 hours to Cleveld to have mine done!
Obesity Help Support Group Leader
(deactivated member)
on 7/23/10 9:40 am
on 7/23/10 9:40 am
Father Don, congrats on your weight loss. I am so excited for you. I am very interested in the VSG surgery. Originally, I had thought about the RNY and was going through all the needed "pre-requirements", however I was given some miss-information from my insurance carrier (BC BS). I was told that RNY would be covered the first time I called them. Upon calling a second time to see if VSG was covered, I was told that my policy did not allow any weight loss surgeries. I am so disappointed, and was wondering what is the total approximate cost of VSG surgery. If I had some kind of idea, I might be able to get a loan or something. I have called the hospital where I wanted to have my surgery, and even called the doctor's office, but no one seems to have that information.
Excellent info Don. Thank you. I did speak to Dr. Curry's insurance staff about doing just that. They thought it was a great idea, but I don't think it will work for me as BCBS only approves the DS for patients with a bmi over 50, so I don't qualify.
This suggestion might be of help to others on the boards though, so Im glad you brought it up.
Congratulations on your sleeve! (Cant wait to join you.)
This suggestion might be of help to others on the boards though, so Im glad you brought it up.
Congratulations on your sleeve! (Cant wait to join you.)
Filing for a 2 part DS when you initially want a VSG all along is known as
INSURANCE FRAUD
and there needs to be a medical reason to support two surgeries instead of one. Don't think they don't read places like this and can't hold it against you. DO NOT try to defraud your insurance company.
INSURANCE FRAUD
and there needs to be a medical reason to support two surgeries instead of one. Don't think they don't read places like this and can't hold it against you. DO NOT try to defraud your insurance company.
Valerie
DS 2005
There is room on this earth for all of God's creatures..
next to the mashed potatoes
Not fraud when it was determined that due to high BMI and Varicees through-out my esophagus, stomach and intestines, that doing straight RNY was a 50% chance of death!
Needed the BMI to get lower to make RNY (or DS) a viable alternative.
It was because of my dilligence of working my sleeve, and doing everything (and more) that the surgeon said, that brought me to where I am.
Did I want RNY? YES! Am I happy that I have lost (and maintained) the weight I have - Abso-Freaking-loutely!
Since I've maintained, I made the determination myself not to become mal-absorbtive, until it becomes necessary (if at all).
Sorry I didn't put my ENTIRE life out there to explain how this came about. BUT, it's NOT fraud.
You're appology will now be accepted!
Needed the BMI to get lower to make RNY (or DS) a viable alternative.
It was because of my dilligence of working my sleeve, and doing everything (and more) that the surgeon said, that brought me to where I am.
Did I want RNY? YES! Am I happy that I have lost (and maintained) the weight I have - Abso-Freaking-loutely!
Since I've maintained, I made the determination myself not to become mal-absorbtive, until it becomes necessary (if at all).
Sorry I didn't put my ENTIRE life out there to explain how this came about. BUT, it's NOT fraud.
You're appology will now be accepted!
Obesity Help Support Group Leader
I went to Dr Myers. My insurance just approved me for the sleeve, and I have tentatively scheduled my surgery for end of August. My insurance company is Cigna though. They recently cover the sleeve. However, I decided to go with the sleeve even they cover. Just like what you said, even before Cigna cover the sleeve, they told me they would help me to try to get that covered. So far, i have fairly good experience with the staff at Dr Myers. I can't comment about surgery till I have mine done, hopefully in a month (keeping my fingers crossed)
So far, the worst experience i have is with the sleep study :( I was diagonosed with sleep apnea, and had to get CPAP. However, the folks at the neurologist office is not the easiest to work with. They are SLOW! I have to call them to make sure they order my sleep study, get my results, etc. Now, they haven't even send my prescription for CPAP set up :( I was told that Dr Myers won't perform surgery on me unless I'm on CPAP for three weeks. I hope I don't have to postpone my surgery date. I have everything planned out.
So far, the worst experience i have is with the sleep study :( I was diagonosed with sleep apnea, and had to get CPAP. However, the folks at the neurologist office is not the easiest to work with. They are SLOW! I have to call them to make sure they order my sleep study, get my results, etc. Now, they haven't even send my prescription for CPAP set up :( I was told that Dr Myers won't perform surgery on me unless I'm on CPAP for three weeks. I hope I don't have to postpone my surgery date. I have everything planned out.
Dr Myers did my sleeve and I am very happy with how everything went. I really appreciate the followup care and the exercise program which gives you a 3 month membership to the McConnell facility which is in the same building as his office. You get 5 one hour personal training sessions, 5 1/2 hour personal training sessions, and total access to all of the free and ($$) programs there. A regular membership is a bit expensive, but I am going to try to figure that out. It is never busy, and the people working out are for the most part normal people and cardiac rehab folks. Two pools, one lap pool and one warm water pool.
Dr Myers blogs frequently, always educational, and posts videos as well. He also gives patients his personal cell phone number and expects you to call if you need to.
Since you will have frequent followup, keep that in mind when picking a surgeon, and you might want to have easy access to the monthly support group as well. That group really helps as you can share things you discover with others and they do have speakers. This month it was Bo McCoy from Obesity Help. Very interesting speaker.
Also, look into coming to the OH event in Cincinnati next month, that will be a ball.
Dr Myers blogs frequently, always educational, and posts videos as well. He also gives patients his personal cell phone number and expects you to call if you need to.
Since you will have frequent followup, keep that in mind when picking a surgeon, and you might want to have easy access to the monthly support group as well. That group really helps as you can share things you discover with others and they do have speakers. This month it was Bo McCoy from Obesity Help. Very interesting speaker.
Also, look into coming to the OH event in Cincinnati next month, that will be a ball.
Update:
I entered the Fresh Start Bariatrics program at Riverside with Dr. Stephen myers, and jumped through all their hoops for three months.
I did my best to work with their team, but was very dissapointed with Dr. Myers and decided to switch surgeons. I am now with Dr. David Schumacher in Kettering and SO GLAD I made the change.
I entered the Fresh Start Bariatrics program at Riverside with Dr. Stephen myers, and jumped through all their hoops for three months.
I did my best to work with their team, but was very dissapointed with Dr. Myers and decided to switch surgeons. I am now with Dr. David Schumacher in Kettering and SO GLAD I made the change.
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