Brother Has pacemaker,defibulator can he have LAPBAND?

My brother has a pacemaker/defibulator and he is 51 years old, he really needs to lose weight, he weighs about 260 and wants to have the lapband. also does anyone know if medicare will pay in oklahoma. thanks reba

Reba,

Is his Defibrillator an implanted ICD?  The Pacemaker and ICD alone are not reasons to prohibit him from having surgery.  His overall health is the determining factor.  This is something he would need to discuss with a surgeon in depth prior to making a decision.  I am also positive that the surgeon would require him to have a "Pre-Op Cardiac Clearance" from his Cardiologist in order to assess his risk for a cardiac event under anesthesia.  It will all be dependant on  his individual health status but again, having a PM and ICD does not disqualify him if other risk factors are manageable for him.

Time for  him to have a good consultation with a surgeon and his cardiologist to get the determination as to his individual surgery candidate status.

Good luck to him.

The first question can really only be answered by his Dr - lots of variables, although I don't know that an AICD alone would disqualify someone.The payment question by his insurance carrier, medicare directly and will probably depend on specific qualifying factors.

Here is the link to the Medicare site where you can find approved Centers Of Excellence that will pay for lap band or bypass but they will pay ONLY if done at these places.  I had medicare, they are pretty easy to get approved. If your center of excellence says you need lap band/bypass and you meet the centers criteria you are approved!!  Hope this helps. 

I have a pacemaker/Defib. too.( I have had a pacer since I was 3, so 30 years now) I also had the lapband placed in 11-06. (I also have cardiomyopathy, so I had to have my transplant Dr also sign off on the lapband too.) You have to do a lot of pre ops (or at least in my case) but I didnt get any static from my insurance. I dont have medicare, but my (small) experience of knowing people who have them is as long as the Dr signs off then they dont give you too many problems.  I would say the worst thing about having a heart problem and having a band placed is everyone is way over careful. (not really a bad thing)  If you want to ask me anything else I would be happy to share, or help!