Help for a newbie in Southwestern Ontario

After a couple of years of doing some research on bariatric surgery, I finally asked my GP for a referral. He didn't seemed to know anything about the referral process or the surgery, and referred me to some new general surgeon in another city (Simcoe) that he had just received an email about. I could not find anything on this new surgeon, and he (and the city he works in) is not on the Ontario Bariatric Registry site.

How do I get a proper referral? Does my GP need to go through the Bariatric Registry? I am interested in a sleeve procedure, and getting OHIP funding.

Thanks in advance.

Hello there. Your doctor has to do it through the registry. You can go on the site and print off the information for your doctor to make it easier for him when you go and ask. Best of luck to you.

Your GP logs into the Bariatric Network Website and refers you.

It's actually not that difficult. There are instructions for referring physicians on the website.

He can't refer you to a surgeon on his own. You have to go through the process.

:)

There is even a video the doctors office can watch to make it easier.

Hi Battlecry. Here is the website http://www.ontariobariatricnetwork.ca/referring-physicians

You will see at the bottom there are support files to help your GP through the process.

Good luck!

Hmm. I wonder who the heck he referred me to then!

Depending on where you live you might get sent to Windsor, Hamilton or Guelph. Those are three Bariatric Centres in southwest Ontario.

I live in Waterdown and am going through Hamilton (St. Joe's). I've heard of people from Toronto being sent to Guelph though so you never know.

TBH I can't imagine that a surgeon in Simcoe would be able to perform the surgery. Hopefully some of the information you have been given here will help you and your Doctor get you into the system.

Congratulations on your decision to go for surgery!

I noticed you said you want the sleeve. OHIP can be a bit finicky about letting you choose which surgery you'll get. Arguably, it's your body and your choice, but really, until you meet the surgeon, the process tends to be very pro RNY. I chose RNY, but was given a choice by my surgeon, which I really appreciated.

All this to say: once you're in the program and "all" you hear about is RNY, don't get discouraged. When you meet the surgeon, have a dialogue about why you believe the sleeve is a better choice for you. More and more surgeons are open to it now.

Wishing you all the best and great health. :)

Thank you! I did read that OHIP makes it hard for people to get a sleeve, so we'll see how things go (if I can get my doctor to make the right referral this time!). I just don't think RNY is right for me, but I'm open to hearing about all the options from the bariatric team.

My friend advocated for a sleeve and got it through OHIP, and she didn't have any real medical need for it - she just knew she was more comfortable with it. Her surgeon was fine with that and she's lost 140 lbs since she had it last year. So it's not impossible by any means. I have a friend at work that went through a private clinic for a sleeve because she didn't meet the criteria and didn't want to wait for approval. She paid about $19,000 for it. She is still very happy with her purchase.