Lap band surgery

I am considering the lap band surgery, any recommendation on surgeons or whether this is better than the RNY other than the basics

Hi Dennis, I am having lap band surgery on April 18 with Dr. Pedro Kuri in Tijuana, Mexico. He has a very good reputation and the cost is reasonable ($8,950). I don't know whether this is a "better" surgery than the RNY, but it is less extreme and is also reversible should anything go wrong. On the other hand, you may have to have one or more fills/defills to get just the right amount of restriction. Barb Sanders

Other than cost why are you going to Mexico? Isn't there anyone else around WA that could do for close to the cost? Have you looked into any of the surgeons here in Wa?

I haven't looked into surgeons in Washington since I've only just moved here. However, I checked into surgeons in California - none had done the number of surgeries that Dr. Kuri had and the cost was much higher. Dr. Kuri has a very good reputation and has done over 1500 lap band surgeries. It might be worthwhile to check surgeons in Washington as I understand that prices in the US have come down somewhat from what they used to be for this surgery. Anyway, good luck with whatever decision you make. Barb

There is an awesome set of Doc's in Kirkland WA that I would have LOVED to go to if they accepted my insurance. Their names are Dr Watkins and Dr Montegomery. Both are very nice, compassionate and caring men. They both do both kinds of surgery. I would recommend making the journey to this side of the mountains and going to their seminar. Although I didn't end up going with them, Dr Watkins is the reason that I had the surgery. He was so nice and caring and understanding and most importanly, non judgemental. Check him out at Evergreen Medical Center. He's worth looking into.