Re: To Lori

[Guest guest]

Lori:

I know that Dr. Booth has a stealer reputation and has done many surgeries,

but I will let members who are his patients give you the nitty-gritty on

him. Most doctors will allow you to do all of your pre-op testing in your

home city (even if it is overseas). We even had a girl travel from

Australia (self-pay) to have her surgery done in the states. Because there

are so few doctors that do this surgery, traveling is not uncommon and the

doctors are accustomed to making accommodations under these circumstances.

There also might be another alternative for you. There is a doctor in Spain

that many members have used. His name is Dr.Balastar. You will find

information on the DS website about him. Or his website

http://www.drbaltasar.com/i_default.html A member you will see on the

lists of patients named Kris and her daughter KaCee both went to him with

great success. Kris was from the states and lived in Germany because her

husband had a non-military job there. Her teenaged daughter lived in the

states and came to Spain to have the surgery. You may want to communicate

with Kris to discuss her experience first-hand.

It may seem a bit futile to you at this point, but I think you have a lot of

good possibilities and several choices. Insurance is a big hurdle. If have

been fortunate enough to conquer that mountain getting over to the other

side is doable. Get in touch with Dr. Booth and find out what his criteria

would be. He should be willing to rely on the recommendation of your

military Primary Care Physician and work with him as far as pre-operative

tests.

I think that in the public arena there is a silence form the MO community as

to how difficult it is for us to get this surgery. We never talk about it

except among ourselves. I think it has to do with the old adage that " it's

you fault your fat " . All of us have had hoops to jump through to get into

that operating room. If it wasn't doubting relatives, it was recalcitrant

insurance companies. I am glad to see that you are able to move forward.

Kathie from MD

Thanks

> Thanks so much to everyone who responded to my question. I guess

> what I was really concerned with was can the DS procedure be

> successful for someone who loves sweets pre-op. I have researched

> this surgery on and off for almost 3 years. I started when my best

> friend had the surgery. I started going to all the websites she had

> given me and finally decided it wasn't for me, that if I just kept

> trying I could eventually lose the weight on my own. I guess you can

> figure out that I never did since I am a memeber of this list. Now I

> have different problems because my husband is in the military and we

> are currently stationed in Germany. I have met online several

> military spouses who are stationed not only in Germany but in Europe

> and found out there are no military doctors in Germany who do the

> surgery. I have also been pursuing having the military send me back

> to the states to have the surgery but it seems to be taking to long.

> This weekend I decided to check with my Tricare (military insurance)

> office to see if it would be possible to go back to my hometown and

> have the surgery there. Even if I have to buy my own plane ticket to

> do it. I am tired of waiting. Once I find out if it would be

> possible to do that I have to find a doctor who would be willing to

> let me have all my pre-op testing done here and schedule me for

> surgery before I fly home. I know there are doctors who will do that

> but I don't know if there is one near my family that will. I have

> found a doctor there who does the surgery. His name is Dr. Booth in

> Biloxi, MS. Anyone out there have any info on him?? As soon as I

> talk with my insurance company I will contact his office to see if

> they would be willing to work with me. I know he is on the surgeon's

> list on the DS website but I am interested in hearing from people who

> have used him and their opinions of him, his bedside manner and those

> type things.

>

> Sorry this was so long. Thanks again.

>

> LORI

>

>

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