Question:
Why do doctors give you a "Tentative Surgical Date"

Why do doctors give you a "Tentative Surgical Date" mostly on your 1st consultation whether you are approved or not and then ride it out almost to the date of your surgery and then you get approved and are in a oblivious rush to complete all of the pre~op requirments on time for your surgery? How in the world do you handle the waiting and nervousness of the weeks and weeks that go by with no word what so ever? Im going on 12 weeks and am literally going crazy waitng for that approval letter and it never comes? Vicki    — Vicki R. (posted on November 5, 2002)

November 4, 2002
All surgeries at hospitals are generally tentative anyway. If a bunch of emergencies come in, we get bumped, sometimes the surgeon has conflicts. There are so many possibilities, that all surgeons should advise that every surgery date is tentative, so we don't get so shocked when we are cancelled.
   — faybay

November 4, 2002
I did not receive my surgery date until after my insurance approval came in. Even then, it was contingent on my having my pre-op testing, abdominal ultrasound and cardiac clearance completed and submitted to the surgeon's office by the day prior to surgery. <p> At the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where I had my surgery, the WLS is close to the bottom of the priority rung as far as scheduling goes. So sometimes people get bumped at the last moment to a later date. This is a hassle when you've already been through your 2-day pre-op liquid diet and bowel prep and you've got to go through it all over again. This didn't happen to me but to a few members in our support group...JR
   — John Rushton

November 4, 2002
Vickie, my understanding as to why you get a tenative date is that a date is needed for insurance. Once you get approved, that approval is good for 6 months and you can have the surgery anytime in that window. With my dtr, he gave me a tenative date of 9-12 and then once I got approved in 2 days, he moved me ahead a month to the next available date (8/15).
   — heathercross

November 4, 2002
Well, for me it ended up being a blessing. I was bumped once due to insurance denial and ended up appealing. I rec'd another tentative date and got my appeal through just 2 days before that! So, between rushing to get the bowel prep done and get everything else in order in 2 days, I had absolutely no time to be nervous or become anxious. I thought it worked out great for me. Renee D
   — Renee D.

November 5, 2002
When the Surgeons nurse called me to schedule a date, she told me that some insurance companies require a date on the paperwork submitted for approval. No one ever said "tenative" to me, but I guess nothing is carved in stone. I'd go crazy too, if 12 weeks passed without a word from the insurance company! Did you call and make sure they received your paperwork? I was on the horn right away with mine. Can't you give them a call?
   — Tricia J.