Lauren H.

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The last two years have literally flown by.  They have been some of the best years of my life.  My weight loss was steady, I got pregnant at about 6 months out from surgery which was planned, at the time I was only about 30-40lbs from goal.  I continued to lose through out the 1st trimester and then slowly regained what I had lost in the 1st trimester so there was no net gain.    A few weeks after my son was born I dropped the "baby" weight and have continued to slowly drop a few lbs here and there and I am now at my goal and have been steady for months.  It has been great I really would recommend a VSG to anyone looking to get WLS.  Having had the band and known lots of people who had GB, I think the VSG is the safest least problematic option while still maintaining a more normal level of digestion and eating.  The surgery has done what it was supposed to it gave me my life back and I love it.  I still like to eat but it doesn't consume my whole world like it used to and I eat a whole lot less. 

Lets see when I left off I had been denied by insurance and was going the Mexican surgeon route.  Well I heard Dr Husted who was with LapSf left them to start his own practice.  I had wanted to go to Dr Husted while he was with LapSf but I was told that Dr Cirangle would not allow that.  So I contacted his office and arranged to talk with him about my situation.  Dr Husted has a lot of experience with revision.  So we talked and his approach to the surgery is different from all the other surgeons I’d talked with but it also makes the most sense and is safest.  As I’ve mentioned before when my last eroded band was removed they wrapped the top of my stomach to cover the hole.  Taking down the wrap was the trickiest part of getting the VSG (or any other WLS), Dr Husted said he’s done the VSG on people with fundoplications  and will leave it in place reducing the risks associated with taking it down.  He’s done this before and has been very successful, yay!  With that out of the equation the surgery is a lot less risky than it would have been trying to take down the wrap so I feel a lot better about the whole thing.  Also every other surgeon I’ve talked to has said that the surgery will probably have to be open, well he said that he will attempt lap. but if he needs to will do hand assisted which s better than a open surgery.  We’re going to for insurance approval but if that doesn't work out he quoted me 16.5k for the surgery with any additional nights in the hospital $2000 a night, which is the hospitals price and pretty average. I am a surgical nurse I work with surgeons all day, there are very few that have the approach Dr Husted has, I would recommend him to anyone looking to WLS.  So that’s what is new with my surgery/insurance/surgeon saga. 

United denied my claim for pre-authorization, which I always knew was a big possibility.  Anyway so surgery with Dr Cirangle is off and I haven’t been able to find a surgeon that I could afford.  In fact I’ve had a few surgeons tell me they don’t want to work on a case like mine.  So I’m back looking at Mexican surgeons.  I contacted Dr Rumabut who did my first band, who is a very good surgeon.  He’s willing to do it, although he said that I will mostly like have a leak but that he’ll plan for it.   The crazy part of this whole thing is I was a patient of his in Sept of 1999 and he remembered my me when I called, he remembered my last name.  Anyway he’s going to give my info to someone tomorrow and they’ll contact me with a price estimate. 

Dr.  Cirangle  finally got the letter to the insurance specialist who submitted my request to UHC last Thursday, I have called UHC everyday this week to see what the verdict is.  They say it’s still being reviewed by a nurse.  The longer it takes the more nervous/excited I get.  I am really ready to get my VSG.  If I get approved with Dr Cirangle then I’m going to go ahead and have surgery with him.    Please send good thoughts my way. 

A week ago today I talked with Dr Cirangle’s assistant who I’ve been working with trying to get this insurance letter from Dr Cirangle.  I called in the morning; she said she would call me back at the end of the day. So at the end of the business day with no call from her I called back.  She told me that Monday is there busy office day and that she was working on it but since the Dr was behind she wouldn’t be able to talk to him about it until the next morning and she would call me then.   She told me not to call again she would call me.  It’s been a week and she hasn’t called.  It’s taken me months but I’ve finally given up on him and his office staff.  So that is behind me.  I started looking for a new surgeon, there aren’t any in my state that do the surgery I want (vertical sleeve gastrectomy.)  Plus I work at one of the two hospitals in the area that do Bariatric surgery and I don’t like the surgeons here.  Ok for the good news.  I have been looking for an experienced revision surgeon, someone who does the VSG but also has a lot of experience doing complicated surgeries.  My preference was to stay on the west coast to make any needed follow up easier.  I found a surgeon in Phoenix that I have a good feeling about, Dr Eric Schlesinger.  He specializes in revisions and has as much experience if not more than my previous surgeon.  The best part was I called today and was able to talk to him right away.  His office staff have been wonderful so far, very responsive and friendly.  I am so excited that I found a surgeon to do this.  I’m hoping to get everything together and submit to insurance very soon.

When I talked with Dr Cirangle back in April, he was confident about getting insurance to approve my surgery.  He doesn’t want to do it as a self pay because the risk of complication is so high. Last year when he removed the band the hospital bill was over 100k with the insurance discount. I agree that insurance is the way to go.  So in April I did my part and waited for him to write the letter of medical necessity and get it to Marilyn, the insurance coordinator.  May and June went by with no letter from him.   I talked with him in July, he said he’d write the letter and Marilyn would have it Monday morning (it was Friday).  That Monday came and went still no letter, I was told at one point that he had dictated it and they would get it to Marilyn soon.  But still no letter.  I talked with Dr Cirangle again Friday August 10^th, he asked how I wanted the letter worded as if he hadn’t even started the letter.  He told me Marilyn would have the letter Monday, that was a week ago. No letter.  I talk with someone in his office at least once a day.   His assistant and Marilyn both know me well.  Here’s the thing though, everyone, the office manager, surgical scheduler, his assistant and insurance coordinator all talked with him about this.   Every time I talk with one of them they already have a bunch of stuff they need to talk with him about and seem to be unable to get him to just sit down and write this thing.  He’s busy I get that but I’m starting to lose faith in him.  It’s pretty unacceptable to me that he’s given me a time frame twice and both tines he hasn’t followed through.  I kind of feel trapped by this situation; I can’t see any of the other surgeons in his practice he won’t allow it.  Plus I think he’s a good surgeon and has already been in my abdomen and knows what’s going on.  But how long do I wait for him to get this letter done?