Madigan Army Medical Center?

Anyone here had their surgery done at MAMC? I'm an Army wife, and am going in for my consult on the 12 and have some questions about how long the process took, how it went ect.

Hi Tricia, I'm an Air Force spouse, stationed at McChord. I'm not sure how far you've gotten but, I'll give you a quick run down of what I've done so far. I had to go to my primary doctor here on McChord and got set up for a consult with a surgeon. I had to attend a class that was about 1½ hours long that talked about how the surgery was performed, and what the requirements where. I THEN had the consult with a surgeon...which is not even the doctor that will be doing my surgery. It was just an intern that came in and asked me a bunch of questions....such as, "what types of diets have you tried? How long have you been over weight? Have you ever had abdominal surgery?" I answered all of his questions, he left the room and went and spoke with the surgeon, came back and told me I'd been accepted for surgery. You'll be required to take a nutrition class...which was very informative. It lasts about 1½ hours. The lady who taught it said that once you complete all the required steps, you could move up on the list quite quickly. She said that the list used to be a year or more wait, but they have 6 surgeons now and it's not uncommon for a person to come up on the list and decide not to do the surgery...so you can get moved from #30 to #12 in no time. She said they're doing 3-4 surgeries a week. You'll have to take 4 different psych classes, and then you get set up to speak with the surgeon himself. You typically don't get to choose your surgeon. It's sort of a rotating thing. I wouldn't know my surgeon if I saw him on the street. But, there are 2 surgeons that have been there for a long time and very experienced, one of them will be in with your surgeon. They never do them alone. The nutritionist said that realistically if you worked it, and did all of your classes you could have your surgery within a 6 week time frame from start to finish. You could request to be put on a standby list so that if somebody cancelled, you'd be called and could have your surgery ASAP. Otherwise, you can take it at your own pace. The classes you have to take can not be more than 6 months from the time you completed them until the time you have surgery. My very good friend had her lap RNY there back in May. She had a few minor complications, nothing really worrisome. They took good care of her. I went and saw her everyday, and then helped her with her recovery phase. She's lost about 75lbs now. She was in the hospital a total of 3 days. For her the worst part was the drain tube. Said it was no fun having taken out, but it felt much better getting it out. As for me, I need to take the psych classes, but they're on Wednesdays at 5pm and I wor****il 5pm, so I'm going to have to figure out how to get the time off of work to be able to get out to them. Anyway, I'm sorry I rambled on. Hope that helps, I'm not sure how far into it you are. Take care and best of luck with it! Dena

WOW THAT HELPED SOOOOOOOOOOO INCREDIBLY MUCH! Thank you thank you! That was exactly what I was looking for. I go in the 12th to my PCP to get a consult so that's where I am. Not too far into it. But doesn't look like it takes much time after that! I'm getting excited now! Thank you so much, do you mind if i add you as a friend?

Wow- Thanks Tricia for posing the question and to you Dena for your answer. I too am considering gastric surgery but the lapband is what I would be most interested in. I have both Blue Cross/Blue Shield Federal thru work and Tricare Prime thru my hubby. I go to a civilian doc and had her refer me to Dr. Oh in Federal Way, I had been to his seminar and like his style and he was recommended by an associate. I don't see him until 12/22 and I'm concerned about my insurance covering it. Sounds like dealing directly with Madigan might be an option if not. I'd love to hear how everything goes for you, what their requirements are and whether Lapband is even an option with them. I'm a BMI of 41 without any major co-morbidities just asthma, back, hip and knee pain. Let me know how you do with them! Stacey

Here is a link to obesity treatments Tricare covers. I'd prefer lapband also but it's not covered http://www.tricare.osd.mil/tricarehandbook/results.cfm?tn=34&cn=8

It's odd that they say they cover vertical banded gastroplasty, it's my understanding that this procedure is considered obsolete!

Hi Stacey, Just thought I'd let you know...in case you're interested. Madigan will be starting to do the Lap Band in 2007. At least that is what the nutritionist told me when I went for my class about a month or so ago. She said they have 2 surgeons who are finishing their credentials to be able to do it next year. Dr. Oh and Dr. Sriinkcanth are both really good too...and St. Francis Hospital is the only hospital in the state that is a Center of Excellence for Bariatric surgery. I would have loved to have Dr. Srinnkcanth, but my insurance (through my job) wouldn't cover WLS. Best of Luck on all of it! Dena

Sacred Heart Medical Center here in Spokane is supposed to be certified as a center of excellence any day now. My surgeon's office has been working on the process for a few months now.

Karli, Hi! I had 3 surgeries at Sacred Heart and they are fantastic! The best care I have ever had. Good Luck with your journey! Dena

Tricia, Yes, please add me as a friend! And good luck with all of it. I was ready to go in fighting for approval....and didn't have to. It really was simple. The Dr. I saw told me, "You don't have to convince me that you need this surgery" Wheeeeew! That was a huge load off! Good Luck and let me know how it's going! Dena