BMI 55 and over

Wow! Congrats to you.  Great job on losing the weight.  Good luck with your surgery.

Wow...OHIP really is being stupid about this (but why does that surprise me).  If someone has a BMI well over 55, why are they not sending them to the states right away.  I can see them accepting someone with a BMI of 56 or 57 since you will lower your BMI before surgery with the pre-op diet and required weightloss before your are given your surgery date.  I went into the lap-band having a BMI of 54 and 316 lbs and I know so many others with BMI's in the high 50's who NEEDED surgery to prolong their lifespan.  I could see a patient that was 800 lbs being told that they needed to lose a certain percentage of weight before they can safely have an anesthetic but someone in the early 300's, that is sad.  Lets just hope that Ontario surgeons pull up their socks on this one.

Checking on my height- 30 lbs is the difference between a BMI of 60 and 55- 350 lbs vs 380 lbs. Three hundred pounds is a lot of risk surgically, 350 and 380 is more, the anesthesia is the main risk. Surgeons have reduced the risks by doing it laproscope vs open.

All I can say to you folks, if this is the case...its totally crazy! People with higher BMIs are sicker and should be taken care of.  Not everyone can lose the weight to get within these guidlines.  I urge you to call your surgeons office and let them know that if Ottawa centre of excellence can refer to Dr Graber in Utica, everyone in Ontario should have this right.  Call OHIP, call your surgeon and get what you are entitled to.  From my discussion with OHIP, Graber is the only surgeon OOC getting referals.  They are few but it is still happening.

Good luck to you all.

and while you're bringing this up, people should know that they could be approved for a DS OOC if their BMI is 60 or higher.

Don't just settle folks fight for what you want.

 well even though my computer wouldnt put in my BMI of 54 we went with 56 and I still had my surgery that day!...

Unbelievable!
Are they nacking fut? That's the improved wls assessment process? 

There are at least hundreds, even thousands of Ontarians just have been sentenced to death and irreversible tissue damage... Can't believe it...
if I didn't find out about wls in 2008, today I would've been rejected with my BMI of 62. No way I'd drop it below 55, not with insulin dosage I was on - high doses of insulin prevent fat burning and cause constant hunger. Instead of being slim and healthy today I would've been huge, blind and on dialysis. 

Does anyone consider legal action?
HOW ABOUT CLASS ACTION?

I am considering legal action, Nata.

I was denied my choice of DS at a time when others around me were approved.....thanks, dent!

And as far as the Centres of Excellence not performing surgery on those with BMI's higher than 55?  That scares me.  What is that saying about the skills of these surgeons?  Give me the ones with lower BMI's and less risks - yipes, don't give me the ones that I don't feel comfortable operating on.  Makes you want to stop and think very hard about that.

OHIP is stupid.  With Langley at the wheel, how can it be any thing but?  He is incompetent and a complete arshole.  With dent right up OHIP's ass...well, that speaks volumes.  Wonder what ever happened between him and Dr. Graber anyway?  Thought they were buds.  Thought dent felt extremely comfortable sending patients to Dr. Graber?  That's what he said to OHIP about me? mmmmm

I completely agree Ruth....WHAT is it saying about the surgeons skill?  Dr Kam @ Barix did not even bat an eye at me with my BMI over 60.
Not to offend anyone who has had surgery here in Ontario or has surgery comming up, but damn.

Reducing risks before a procedure is good practice. The MIS group is caring for a number - at least 6, who had WLS elsewhere- and now have serious complications directly related to that surgery. I don't know if it was high BMI's that figured in the complications,  but certainly there must be data that they are using to set such a standard.

If someone can reduce their risks by dieting pre-op to lose 30 lbs to get to a BMI of 55, then I think that is reasonable, and from what I am reading, doable on Optifast or similar products. If you can't make that sort of commitment pre-op, what do you expect post-op?

It is not sustainable sending our tax $$$$ to the US to perform surgeries our doctors can do. Don't expect the system to magically get up and running overnight. In time, more people will have access to WLS in their own province, than if the process of sending people and $$ to the US continued.  I've worked in US hospitals, they are good, but no better or no worse than here, but what I have seen is focus on profit over care. It is also a long way to go for followup care.