Question:
Questions about Wylie, TX's BTC...

I'd love to hear from anyone who has worked with BTC in Wylie. How helpful were they in filing with your insurance company? Also, how long did it take to get into a consultation? And, how long after that did you have your surgery? Thanks!    — Kimberly S. (posted on December 4, 2002)

December 4, 2002
Hi Kimberly. My consult was around 6/1 (about 2 wks after I called). I was very frustrated with their insurance department, which was centralized and in a different time zone, but the office staff in Wylie was very nice. I have Cigna PPO as well, and they were relatively quick to approve. BTC took 3 months to send the paperwork (according to Cigna). After 4 months of waiting and calling every two weeks, I found out I had been approved for a month already (approval was only good for 90 days). No one from Cigna or BTC had called or written me about this. Cigna claimed it was BTC's responsiblity to notify me. In BTC's defense, they were very, very busy at the time and probably still are. Dr. Leverton is a very nice surgeon that seems quite competent. She had done over 600 surgeries when I met her and I'm sure she has done even more now, 6 months later. I ended up not using BTC because I really wanted an ICU at the facility where I had surgery done. I was concerned that if there was a problem, I would have to be airlifted to the nearest ICU. 199 out of 200 people do not die from wls, but the national mortality rate is 1 out of every 200 people.(I think Dr. Leverton has a much better rate than that, though). I also wanted the surgery done laproscopically. Dr. Leverton is probably a pretty good bet; The Provost/Jones team at Southwestern, the Baylor program, Dr. Babineau in Tyler, and I think Kenneth Warlock in Witchita Falls are all board certified and trained in the US, I believe. I would also attend Dr. Barzune's seminar. He has a fantastic reputation around Dallas. I hope this helps you and best of luck! :)
   — Write L.

December 4, 2002
Please read my profile for answers to your questions. I had surgery with Dr. Leverton, and I am thankful every day I made that choice. The insurance proces did seem a bit slow, but in retrospect, it was probably impatience on my part more than anything. Once we decide we want this surgery, we tend to want it "right now" :) Anyway, rather than re-type my whole profile here, just give it a read.
   — Greg P.

December 4, 2002
I had my surgery on March 19, 2002 with Dr. Capps in Wylie. The facility and staff were very nice. Although there were some approval, testing and insurance delays that seemed frustrating at the time, all went fairly smoothly. I had a bit of a rough time with my pain control, due to some IV problems with my veins. I guess the main vote of confidence that I am giving to the BTC is that my husband is now scheduled for surgery on December 12. He will have Dr. Leverton. By the way, I am down 101 lbs. Good luck with your decision!
   — jm3218

December 5, 2002
I went for an initial consultation with Dr. Leverton and liked her very much immediately. She was professional and talked openly about all the possible complications. The reason I decided not to go with BTC was entirely because of the insurance dept. It took 2 months for them just to send my paperwork to UHC, which I felt was ridiculous considering that's all that dept does. I chose another surgeon who's office was more organized and efficient.
   — Rozey B.