Guest sdejong Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 Ok, so I don't know why I am surprised but I had to give it a try.... My mom was banded here in the States about 2 years ago, her doctor was trained by Dr. Ortiz and is supposed to be really good. I was really hoping that he would agree to be my fill doctor since he is about 3 minutes from my house, instead of fill center USA (3-4 hours away). So to make a long story short, I emailed the office today and left a really nice message about how great I hear they are and that my mother is a patient and that I was banded by Dr. Ortiz. I got a call about 20minutes ago from the office manager and she was very excited about finding out more info about me. The last question she asked was where was I banded, when I told her I was banded in Tijauna her hold attitude changed. She said with attitude, "We don't take Mexican patients", and good bye. I wanted to tell her that I wasn't Mexican but that probably would have pissed her off even more. I can't believe that their is a stereo type about patients that get banded in Mexico. For gosh sakes, Dr. Ortiz was his teacher...... I bet he didn't even know, but guess what my mom is on a war path and I bet he finds out soon.... Sorry, just need to vent.... Even if he would take me know I wouldn't go.... Shy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittycat Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 I am sorry to hear that, it would have been ideal for you to have your fills close to home. I am not surprised though, here in Canada, the same thing happens, my clinic in Mississauga has been getting calls from TJ patients and because my clinic did not perform the surgery, they won't do the fills. I assumed the procedure was the same whereever you go, but that may not always be the case. At the OCC the surgery is much shorter than here in Canada. My surgery took almost 2 hours and I heard some of the surgeries done at OCC are 20-40 minutes tops. I wish you luck finding a fill centre close by. Take care, Cathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fat2nrml Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 That doesn't even sound right.... he was trained by Dr. O???!!! I bet he doesn't know either! I've been there though, I tell them I was banded in Mexico and they say the doc won't touch anyone banded in Mexico! It makes me feel like I diseased or something!! I hope your Mom talks to the Doc and he agrees to take you on as a patient.... I'd be saying something to that receptionist! Best wishes, Darlene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlag Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 That is horrible. I can't believe how quick people are to judge. I hope your mom does say something and that receptionist gets her butt chewed. I have not had any problem in finding places in Kansas to get the fills done, but I still prefer to go back to OCC. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paula Bee Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 I agree that other fill dr.'s are biased against TJ patients. However, most also will not take any patient banded by any other doctor, including patients who have moved within the US, whose doctors have retired or are deceased. It is all about liability; no doc wants to take some other's problem patient and get sued for complications for a surgery they didn't even perfom. Their liability insurance would also skyrocket. I don't like the fact that I have to drive a couple of hours away to get a fill, but I do understand why. A reality of lapband life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittycat Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 I agree that other fill dr.'s are biased against TJ patients. However, most also will not take any patient banded by any other doctor, including patients who have moved within the US, whose doctors have retired or are deceased. It is all about liability; no doc wants to take some other's problem patient and get sued for complications for a surgery they didn't even perfom. Their liability insurance would also skyrocket. I don't like the fact that I have to drive a couple of hours away to get a fill, but I do understand why.A reality of lapband life. You are so right Paula, it's not that you were banded in TJ is that you weren't banded by them. They don't want to be responsible for any problems that may arise. Cathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiamondJim Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 That is the same attitude that I got as I tried to find a fill dr closer to home. When I told them that I was banded in Mexico, the conversation was over. I did finally found a Dr 45 miles from my home, who is located in Nashville who is going to do my fills. His prices are higher than the fill centers but I have no problem with that. I figured the time that I would save would be well worth the extra expense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calicat Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 I've gotten the same reaction, except I was the one who said goodbye after she changed her voice and became short and rude. I was shocked. I would have flown anywhere Dr. Ortiz was performing surgery - no matter what country. I wish they would judge more by the doctor, then by the country the surgeon practices in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calicat Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Just for an FYI - the day my friend got surgery, someone was at the OCC getting a re-surgery. Same with the day I went back to the OCC to get my first fill. Both surgeries were to fix a broken tube - not one that was defective, but one that was punctured by an american clinic while getting a fill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormy Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Just for an FYI - the day my friend got surgery, someone was at the OCC getting a re-surgery. Same with the day I went back to the OCC to get my first fill. Both surgeries were to fix a broken tube - not one that was defective, but one that was punctured by an american clinic while getting a fill. That is horrible, you guys are scarring me. My surgery is the 19th of Sept, what if I can't get back there for a fill, is everyone going to reject me. I better start calling around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jena Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 If you think about it, an American doctor not taking someone on for fills because they were banded in Mexico is just flat out STUPID!!! I'm sure part of it is because they didn't get the money from the surgery. Money talks you know. On the other hand, a fill takes about 10 minutes. If a doctor set aside one day to do Mexican banded patients, they could band at least 5 an hour. In an 8 hour day that would be 40 fills a day and at $200 a pop, that would be $8000 a day. And the doctor wouldn't be the one doing it, the nurse would. That would almost be free money. I just don't get it. It's all about ego. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim2BSlim Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 I heard that same thing over and over when I was looking for a fill Dr. It is almost like we have the Plague or something! Sheesh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watermelonmama Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Before my husband decided to go to Mexico and Dr. Ortiz, we went to a seminar with a local surgeon, Dr. Grossbard. The whole Mexico thing was a complete unknown to us and not something we had heard of or considered ... until Grossbard told us Dr. O trained him AND did his surgery! A few breaths later, he started telling us how no one in the States would touch us w/ "Mexican" bands. Later, he also told us he was a partner in FillCenters . . . which we later found out his other partner was Dr. O. That night was when we started researching Dr. O. Why go to the student when you can go to the teacher? Really, it is just about the money. They don't want your few $100. What they wanted was your $18,000. Anna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fat2nrml Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Let me tell you something that recently happened to me concerning finding a local fill doc.... I called an office close to me and asked about getting fills. As soon as I said I was banded in Mexico, I was told "NO". I asked "why not?" and her reply was... "It's like if someone takes a Sony item to a Panasonic factory to be fixed, they don't want to work on another company's item." What really got me is in the next breath she gave me the name of a "new" local doc who would do my fills. He has 2 whole surgeries under his belt and hasn't done any fills yet [other than practice ones, I'm sure] He must not have heard the Sony, Panasonic story, eh? Needless to say, I'm heading back to TJ on the 29th!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blazn Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Oh - I encountered the same situation right after I was banded. I called several physicians around my area and most were very nice to me - at least until I mentioned Mexico. The only one I found that would take "Mexican patients" was in Brunswick (about 2 hours away) and they wanted $2500 - I did not even ask if that was per fill or for all fills or for a year. I just said thanks and hung up. So I use Fill Centers USA and I am so thankful! I love Darlene and would not change my provider for anything!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Ok, so I don't know why I am surprised but I had to give it a try....My mom was banded here in the States about 2 years ago, her doctor was trained by Dr. Ortiz and is supposed to be really good. I was really hoping that he would agree to be my fill doctor since he is about 3 minutes from my house, instead of fill center USA (3-4 hours away). So to make a long story short, I emailed the office today and left a really nice message about how great I hear they are and that my mother is a patient and that I was banded by Dr. Ortiz. I got a call about 20minutes ago from the office manager and she was very excited about finding out more info about me. The last question she asked was where was I banded, when I told her I was banded in Tijauna her hold attitude changed. She said with attitude, "We don't take Mexican patients", and good bye. I wanted to tell her that I wasn't Mexican but that probably would have pissed her off even more. I can't believe that their is a stereo type about patients that get banded in Mexico. For gosh sakes, Dr. Ortiz was his teacher...... I bet he didn't even know, but guess what my mom is on a war path and I bet he finds out soon.... Sorry, just need to vent.... Even if he would take me know I wouldn't go.... Shy I'm sorry to hear that. It's just wrong on so many levels. We're lucky that we have four doctors locally that do accept Mexican Bandies. Only one won't as he's concerned about medical liability claims but he's doing the legal research to get past it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julieburns Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Boy the fill stories, or attempts to find a place to get them are endless. I think the way people have been shunned because of the Mexico thing is aweful. And the rudeness sound like it's absolutely unprofessional!! Even if they didn't take you as a patient they should be reported to their superior for their rudeness!! Here in Portland we have one Dr. (a DO) who comes to town twice a month to do fill but doesn't use fluoro. My girlfriend uses her and has had no problems, she's found the port on the first try each time. Their is also a Fill center USA in Salem, which is about 40-45 miles south, also no fluoro and more expensive plus the drive. So thankfully I am going to the OCC for my first fill..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tadpole Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 So we are going to end up going to OCC for fills. Dang is that going to get expensive flying fron Canada. Mexico has such a stigmatism as a 3rd world country. Maybe these doctors should do their research on OCC and their doctors. Hugs Trudy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paula Bee Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 When I first contacted Lori about getting the band, she sent me several attachments, including one for doctors who would possibly do fills for me in Florida. She warned me up front that it was very difficult to get a fill from someone other than the surgeon who did the surgery. I called one or two of the numbers, and both no longer did fills for patients other than their own. I went ahead, of course, with the surgery at OCC, knowing that I would have to fly from Florida to TJ or use a fill doctor that is 3 to 4 hours drive from me. (Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Brunswick or Roswell.) Up until the price of gas flew through the roof, it was cheaper to fly to TJ. Now, however, the roundtrips to TJ and back to Jacksonville are nearly $500, and it is cheaper to go to the fill centers. I loved going to TJ and having my fills there, and I always have a wonderful time; I will miss not going there. But, until the cost of flying drops, I will use the fill centers. Thank God there are great ones close to me. And, as to doctors being driven by the almighty dollar, it is really all about malpractice insurance costs. I talked at length with one of the office managers of a local bariactric doctor, and, as Jena said, the doctors could make a lot of money by doing fills on any patients, not just their own. BUT, malpractice insurance is so vicious in Florida that more and more independent doctors are giving up their private offices to go into group practice. There are reports in the paper, and I have had personal experience, with doctors leaving the state in droves because they cannot afford the insurance anymore. The manager told me that INSURANCE companies are the ones who determine which patients a doctor can fill, and the penalties for filling someone and then being sued for it are staggering. He mentioned that it could even cause drastic rises in the malpractice insurance to even DO outside fills, or could cause a firm to lose their malpractice insurance all together. There is NO way a doctor could recoup those costs unless he did more fills than possible each year. Frankly, I wouldn't do outside fills, either, under these circumstances. Anyway, Lori warned me ahead of time, so I went into it with my eyes open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sdejong Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 I think the thing that upset me the most was that they were going to take me until I said Mexico. Another pissy issue is that Dr. O trained this doctor, from what I understand they still keep in contact. shy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeBe Posted July 17, 2008 Report Share Posted July 17, 2008 Silly question... but they don't actually verify where you got your surgery done, so why couldn't you just claim you got it done in a different state (pick a surgeon off the internet). The worst that could happen is they find out you were lying and don't do the fill, right? Sorry, but I think it's discriminatory to refuse to do "Mexican patients". I had a doc here willing to take me until they learned I was banded in TJ. I don't see how it's a liablity issue when they're willing to take another doctor's patient ... just not a MEXICAN doctor's patient. Jerks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my_friend_amber Posted July 17, 2008 Report Share Posted July 17, 2008 In my experience as well the issue has not been that I was banded by another doctor, but that it was in Mexico. Any doctor or fill center can eaisly draw up a liability waiver that states that the patient understands the inherent risks and that they understand all possible side effects and that you can not sue. They can make each patient sign and date that and it is legally binding. It's not that these doctors "can't" do the fill, or don't want to be legally responsible, it's that they want to get the word out that there are repercussions for not paying to get it done by them. Like was said earlier in this post, the docs don't want our few hundred for the fill, they want our $18,000 for the surgery. It's a "punishment" of sorts for going out of country, IMHO. Absolutely, if you have not had surgery yet, call around and find out ahead of time who can/will do your fill. A good resource is www.obesityhelp.com - then click on "find a bariatric surgeon" in the upper left hand corner - click the "Lapband" link and then you can choose a state to search in. Like Paula said, with the price of an airline ticket these days, you want to be sure you know you options ahead of time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlag Posted July 17, 2008 Report Share Posted July 17, 2008 I don't think you could lie about where you had your surgery done. I know here in kansas the doctor that I found to do fills, requires that a patient get a copy of the surgery report. that way they know the band size and etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy Posted July 18, 2008 Report Share Posted July 18, 2008 I think the thing that upset me the most was that they were going to take me until I said Mexico. Another pissy issue is that Dr. O trained this doctor, from what I understand they still keep in contact. shy Shy, let us know what happens when your mother talks to them. I hopes she gives them hell and I wish I could be there to see it happen. I too can not find anyone locally to do a fill. USA fill centers are not near me either. The closest one is 5 hours one way. I guess I will be paying to fly to TJ. 11 days to band-land Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sdejong Posted July 18, 2008 Report Share Posted July 18, 2008 Sandy Will do.... Good luck in 11 days... You will love everyone there, it goes by so fast! I get to eat solids next week, I can't believe it has gone by so fast. I have no restriction left but I am still eating small portions, so I can't wait until my fill on Aug. 19th.... shy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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