I had to go to san antonio because it was thee closest one to me. My ins. Required it

I had mine done by Dr. Michael Green. He has offices in Dallas and Fort Worth. I'm not sure what Dallas hospital he uses but he uses Baylor All Saints and Plaza in Fort Worth.

I think a friend of mine did. I had mine at Forest Park Medical Center in Dallas. It is a private doctor owned hospital and it is also a Center of Excellence.

Forest Park Medical Center in Dallas is excellent! I had my sleeve surgery there on May 22nd - loved everyone there - so professional yet caring. Dr. Nick rocks.

I am having my surgery at Methodist Dallas. My surgeon is Dr. Malladi. She is really sweet and encouraging. I am really comfortable with her.

I had my surgery done at a 'Center of Excellence' and never really bothered to find out what it meant. When I had the hernia repair a few weeks ago, the doctor that did the surgery also does WLS. So I asked her about it. She said that Centers for Excellence are usually in medical schools, but not always. They have done surgery on a number of patients, and they have followed all guidelines to meet the qualifications to accept Medicare. There were a few more that she mentioned, but that was the crux of it. One of the things at my Center for Excellence that was tedious, but I guess I'm glad I went through it all, was the constant appointments, evaluations, assessments, and tests over 9 months before my surgery. Sleep studies, blood work, cat scans, MRI's, EEG's, EKG's, pre-anesthesia appointment. Honestly, I think a bunch of it is HOOEY! When they did the flank hernia repair a few weeks ago, the pre-anesthesia department called me on the phone and asked me about 10 questions. That was it, and they said....see you on Monday. Yet with the Center for Excellence for my GBS, I had to go to an appointment for pre-anesthesia. About 2 hours of driving, a 45min appointment, waiting, etc. The consult for the hernia over the phone probably cost my insurance $45 whereas the full appointment before GBS probably cost my insurance $300. They did no tests, they simply asked me the same questions that the woman did on the phone. Ever had surgery? Ever had a bad reaction? Allergic to medications? What are you taking? Etc. She said for the hospital stay, her surgical fees, and the other costs, that patients pay an average of $18,000 for GBS and about $12,000 for lap band. I saw my bill before it went to my insurance from my Center of Excellence and the bill was $50,820 including the hospital stay, doctor fees, anesthesia, etc. So that Center of Excellence stamp of approval costs insurance companies big bucks. My surgery was 10 months ago, and when the doctor told me I had a flank hernia was the first time I had seen him since he did the bypass surgery. I've seen the nurses and nutritionists regularly, but never seen the doctor since the day after surgery. I've seen the hernia doctor 4 times in one month face to face. The Center Of Excellence is good to have and helps patients feel more comfortable knowing that they've performed a lot of surgeries, but other than that, I think it's just a label to get insurance companies to pay and they seem to go out of their way to charge your insurance company for every little thing. They must have paid for at least 40 doctor appointments with different specialists before the surgery. The hernia doctor, said, they go through the waiting period outlined by insurance, but other than assessing co-morbidities, they didn't require patients to constantly see specialists and get clearances. In that 9 months alone before surgery, I must have paid over $1000 in parking fees for all of the appointments.

Wow Dinae!, I must admit my surgeon had me tested for everything from a to z. I am glad she did for the most part. I found out I do have severe sleep apnea, an enlarged fatty liver, gallstones, severe vitamin D deficiency, anemia and a few other things. You would think I never had a primary doctor! I was already being treated for CHF and HBP. I am happy to find out about all the other things. Up until then, I was told that my weight was the problem. No diagnosis, just lose some weight. I am thankful for the many things they have opened my eyes up to. Thankfully, all of my appointments (with the exception of the sleep study) were at the hospital that I am having my surgery at so my parking was validated through the weight management center. I hope all is well with the hernia repair. I pray to God I don't get one.

From what I have read the Bariatric Centers of Excellence have to have surgeons that their primary practice is bariatric surgery, they have to have performed at least 150 bariatric surgeries in a 12 month period, the hospital has to have a full range of equipment that is needed for bariatric surgery, the hospital has to have a full staff dedicated to after care of bariatric patients and they have to have organized, supervised support groups. There are some other things but that is what I could remember without looking it up.

Centers of Excellence don't necessarily mean they are going to charge your insurance company big bucks. I didn't have a million tests before my surgery. I had blood drawn and a heart stress test and that is it. They were all done on the same day that I had to see my surgeon so my time and driving was on the same day. And my parking has always been validated when I when I went to the doctor's office. And my bill before my insurance paid was around $25,000. I think that just depends on what hospital you go to if they run up your bill.

Center of Excellence ~ Pleasanton California

No, but I did havee at a center of excellence in Syracuse, NY. It was 130 miles away vs. 50 but well worth it. I had zero complications, lost most of my excess weight, can eat anything and am more active than I've been in decades.

You should really make sure you have your surgery at a Center of Excellence. All the criteria they are required to maintain and the key is the follow up so that others have all of the facts and numbers on the different types of bariatric surgery they perform. I had my done in Boston at Brigham and Womens Hospital. Highly recommended if anyone in New England area is looking into the process.

I'm pre op with a surgery date of June 11th. My bariatric program is a Center of Excellence and also Blue Distinction Center for Bariatric Surgery by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, the only one in IL outside of the Chicago area.
I feel my bariatric program is a great one. Yes I had to go the nut, psych, physical therapist before getting team approval for a surgery date but I feel it was good as it builds your case for insurance approval and gets you ready for surgery and post op life. They are very good about letting you know all the risks and benefits of the WLS surgeries. I am thankful this program is in my own city and I don't have to travel either.