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CALL 877-LAPCTR1 OR 812-330-9962

Get Started

How to get started?

  1. The first thing to do is exactly what you are doing now—get informed! This is a big decision and one that can make a dramatic change in your life. Learn as much as you can. Many people find seminars helpful. Our seminar is available “on line.” This allows you to view the seminar in the privacy of your own home at a time that is convenient to you.
  2. Once you are comfortable that you are ready to move forward, you should call the office and ask for our Director of Bariatric Services, Tarah Culbertson. She will walk you through step by step. She will check your insurance to make sure it is a covered benefit. She can also set up your initial consultation. If it is not a covered benefit, she can help answer questions about our self-pay option and financing.
  3. The initial consultation often takes two or three hours, so be sure you set aside enough time. You will undergo a complete history and physical to be sure you are a good candidate for surgery. If it is felt that you need a cardiologist or sleep study before surgery, these will be set up at this time. In addition, Dr. Ray will go over the details of band placement and discuss the risks as well. You will have the opportunity to ask questions, so feel free to write them down ahead of time. All patients must also undergo a consultation with a psychologist and have a dietary consult. This can all be done at our Center.
  4. Get enrolled in our Healthy Lifestyles program. There are a number of things that you will need to do to get ready for surgery. Lap band surgery is not like getting your hernia fixed where you can be seen one day and scheduled for the next week. One of the most important but time consuming steps is that you sometimes must spend six months attempting to lose weight prior to qualifying for surgery. This is an Indiana state law. In 2006, Indiana passed important legislation regarding bariatric surgery and health insurance. Prior to this law, approval for bariatric surgery could sometimes seem haphazard. This law clearly defined who could and could not have surgery. One of the requirements was that patients complete the six-month requirement. We offer a comprehensive program we call Healthy Lifestyles. For many plans, this will full-fill the six month requirement. More importantly, this program will help fully prepare you for surgery. The good news is that once you have done these things your chances of getting insurance approval are much better. In the event that you are not approved, your chances of winning an appeal are also better if you have done these things.
  5. If you have any questions, call us. This can seem like a complicated process but it doesn’t have to be. Just call 812-330-9962 (or 1-877 LAP-CTR1, toll free) and ask for Tarah Culbertson, our Director of Bariatric Services. She is here to help you.