Best lap band surgeons in Nashville?

I am on the hunt for a GREAT surgeon to do a lap band on me. Right now I am leaning towards Baptist Hospital with maybe Dr. Spaw, but I'm completely open to suggestions. Who did yours? Would you recommend them? I am doing self pay and when I called Vanderbilt, they said it was going to be over $17,000. Baptist said that since I am self pay, they give you a discount and they charge $12,000.  This is all new to me. Any and all help is appreciated! :)

Centennial Bariatrics has their self pay prices listed under "Can you afford not to have surgery"..Lapband is 12,666....They are also a center of excellence...which means everything is geared toward bariatric patients...I had the DS done in September and had a super easy surgery and recovery!!!

I am considering Dr. Houston for a DS as well.  I'm assuming that since you said it was super easy surgery and recovery that you are happy with Centennial and Dr. Houston....

Any info you could share with me would be great!  I am not familiar with the doctors in this area and would like your opinion of him if possible.  How are your results with the DS?  I am bouncing back and forth between a DS and RNY...

I am over 4 years post-op from my DS surgery with Dr. Houston.  I am extremely pleased with my outcome and results these past 4 years.  Please spend some time on the DS, RNY, and revision forums.  Although you know best what you're like in terms of health, compliance, and after surgery life style,for me it was DS or nothing.

I respect all of the surgeons at Centennial.  They are skilled and personable.  At this time, though, Dr. Houston is the only one doing the DS.  Words almost fail me at recommending him, he's that good.  If for some reason your insurance doesn't allow you to go to Centennial, Dr. Spaw @ Baptist is also highly respected. 

Thanks for your input!  I have pretty much already chosen Dr. H and the DS... but then something keeps nagging at me about the RNY.  I've got 3 months at least before I can do all of this, so I've got time to do some research and decide.  I've been reading the boards for the last week or so and am thrilled at the information shared here. 

Like everyone else on here, I have been overweight or actually morbidly obese my entire life.  I had thought about doing a MD assisted program on a liquid diet.  I feel like I could lose the weight that way, but I'm guessing as soon as I started eating normal foods that I would gain it right back.  I have gained and lost probably thousands of pounds over my lifetime.  I have been healthy overall for these 42 years of my life, but I've started noticing that I'm having to take Motrin almost every day (one or two doses) because my body aches (probably from carrying all of this weight!) And my BP has started to go up on occasion.  If I want to have any quality of life, I feel this is the only option. 

I am an RN and I researched for over 2 years before making the decision to have the DS. It is not an easy surgery and requires a very experienced surgeon to perform the surgery. I had no complications and went home with no drains and have had a very smooth recovery thus far.  When I started this journey, I was positive I wanted the band, then after meeting several patients that had the band slip or erode into their stomach, I quickly changed my mind. Then I was sure I wanted the RNY, but after much research, I found that I would not be able to use NSAIDS and I have arthritis and fibromyalgia...so I chose the DS which left my pyloric valve in place and has the highest wt loss percentage and lowest regain. The DS is a tool and requires work and discipline on your part and I am not far enough out to presume to tell you what best meets your needs.  I think the suggestion that you visit the support groups and seminars will give you some of the info you need to make the best decision for yourself...Good Luck and if there is anything I can do, please feel free to contact me.

I'm a patient at Centennial.  BE sure you look just not at the cost of surgery, but the aftercare as well.  After surgery to insure long term success you will need support groups, follow ups, etc.  I started out looking at the lap band but switched to the sleeve for a lot of reasons, both medical and aftercare related.

I would suggest that you go to one of the free informational sessions at any of the clinics, hear what the surgeons have to say, and then make a decision on both the clinic and the procedure.  At Centennial we encourage pre-op patients to attend support groups as well and ask questions of other patients.  

Check out www.cmcwls.com.

Dr. Olsen did my sleeve surgery at Centennial Women's Center.  I am two weeks post op.  I have been very impressed with Dr. Olsen, the women's hospital and Dr. Olsen's staff.  If you go to their website they have info on all their doctors, payments, before and aftercare.  They also have an online seminar you can watch that is very informative.         www.cmcwls.com.

If I had to choose something besides the one I chose (the DS), I would have gone with the VSG (the sleeve). I was NOT about to touch the lapband with a hundred foot pole. Even my PCP would not have agreed to my having the lapband. He was ON board with my DS.

An article to read: Quality of life after sleeve gastrectomy and adjustable gastric banding

Many, many surgeons are no longer even doing the lapband due to problems. The sleeve is a far better option in their eyes.

And the lapband was NEVER intended to be permanent...it only has a 10 year life span.

If you are considering the least invasive part...ALL WLS is invasive. Is putting in a band and a port any less invasive than any other? Esp when you chance slippage, erosion, etc from the band. You may be in the percentage that doesn't have issues or is able to lose all your excess but please be aware of the problems before making a final decision.

Dr. Spaw was Awesome! You can't go wrong with him as your surgeon.