Having difficulty finding current recommendations for surgeons or pricing for VSG in Toronto.

Hi all, I'm a newbie to all this so I would really appreciate any direction. I'm having difficulty finding any current recommendations online for surgeons performing VSG (most searches bring up posts from 2012, or from Centric Health- which doesn't seem to have too many ratings at all, and I'd prefer to have any procedure done in a hospital). Also, what is the cost of self pay for this procedure- again there seems to be so much variance. I am considering having the procedure done in Mexico by either Dr. Ortiz or Dr. Kelly: again, any Canadians who have done this, I would REALLY appreciate your thoughts on this. I have two very young children and cannot be away from them for too long- i.e.: how long before I can fly home (barring any complications of course).

THANK YOU so much in advance,

Hi

VSG is gastric sleeve. In Toronto they would be done by the hospitals that are part of the Ontario Bariatric Network which is covered by OHIP. The surgeon ultimately decides if sleeve or bypass is the best for you though.

I would highly recommend taking this route versus going private. I had my band done privately 9 years ago and you do not get the support you need if you take the private route, especially out of country. I am now in the process to get a revision and cannot tell you how much more information and care is provided through the OBN versus private.

Talk with your family doctor or a specialist and have them send in a referral. It is a bit of a wait but it is worth it to have it done right.

I hope this helps!

Thank you so much for your response! Do I have to get a referral in order to start the process? How long does the process generally take? In the instance that one does go private- do you know if there are there any support groups to join post? Thank you again!

You need a referral from your Dr. It can take a week or 3 months to hear back and then you have about a year of tests and waiting.

I did self-pay private VSG in Toronto with Dr Neil Orzech of Centric Health/SmartShape. It costs $19,000 all in including post-surgery support. They do their surgeries in an independent MOHLTC licensed hospital in Don Mills. I considered going to Mexico but my family physician strongly recommended against it and I found it easier (although more expensive) to have it done in Toronto. I found everyone very professional and I had a very successful surgery and weight loss. There are also a couple physicians in Montreal that do private VSG - Dr. Michel Gagner and Nicholas Christou. I initially had gone through the OBN process and my appointments at TWH but for a variety of reasons I did not pursue gastric bypass at the time so I had become well educated by the time I decided to get VSG done privately. I hope this helps.

This is the route that I am considering as my GP is not willing to refer me and I'd like the choice of sleeve vs bypass. In addition, it seems like in Toronto the wait times are shorter but still about a year from starting the process to surgery.

Would you mind answering the following:

The cost of the sleeve on SmartShape's website is now about $19,500 - did your cost of $19K include everything (I'm mostly wondering about taxes)?

Were you able to get any $$ back by claiming this on your taxes? (any little bit of $$ back helps when you are spending $20K)?

What was your wait time from consult to surgery? (their website says 4-6 weeks) and since I have no other health issues I'm hoping this is quite accurate.

Thank you in advance for your help! Meg

The 19K I paid included everything...there's no tax on top of that and I claimed it all on my taxes and got about $4000 back. And yes, the wait time was minimal - there are a lot of forms to fill out but in the end it was pretty quick and easy. Hope this helps.

Yes very helpful. Thank you!