Fill Doctors in Florida?

I would absolutely love to find a Dr. in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area that does fills under fluoro at a reasonable cost.

There are a few Dr.'s who will do fills on patients other than their own that I know of, but their prices are ridiculous -- $800 - $1,000. It's not worth it to me to pay that because I can fly to other places, and have it done much cheaper than that and the savings will more than cover my travel expenses. That said, it sure would be nice to find someone to work with in South Florida.

I consider "reasonable" to be $200 - $300 for fills with fluoro.

If anyone has any info, let me know!

I am a new member of the banded family and I am not sure what y'all are talking about when you refer to using flouro when you get the fills? I was just banded on May 8th and next appt is June 20th, so I better get up to speed on all of this. Sorry if this sounds stupid. I guess I just thought they could tell where the port is and that they use a certain amount of saline in the needle and that is that. Seems that some have mentioned that you should drink after the fill in the office to be sure all is ok before you leave. Any other advice for us newbys? Thanks so much for sharing!!! I am in Jacksonville, Fl and my dr was Dr Robert Cwyes at the Jacksonville Weight Loss Center, his partner is Michael Baptista. They are both very nice. Tel 904-399-4004, in case anyone is interested to see if they do fills for other drs. Good luck to all of us!!

Hi Gojaguars,

It's not a dumb question. Fluoro (or Fluoroscopy) is a type of X-ray imaging that allows the Dr. to see your stomach and your band in action. You take a barium swallow and the image of the fluid traveling through your "pouch" to your stomach can be seen in real time on a screen that both you and your Dr. can see.

Usually what will happen is the Dr. will have you take a sip of the barium and observe how it travels through your pouch to the stomach, then he/she will inject some saline into the band and have you take another sip of the barium. If they like the restriction they see, then you're done for the day, but if not, they will have you repeat this process until they are satisfied with the restriction.

Your stomach will immediately begin to swell as soon as the saline is injected, so even though a fill is being done under fluoro, it might still take a few more minor adjustments in subsequent days or months to get your fill just perfect.

Not all Dr.'s use fluoro for fills, and yours might not -- which is why you might not have heard of it. I personally would not even consider having a fill without it, as it takes all of the guesswork out of the whole process. I also like the fact that every time I have a fill, the Dr. can see my band, my stomach, and my pouch, and confirm that everything is okay and working as it should.

Frangi, thanks so much for the info. That is really interesting. I had noticed some others mentioning the barium swallow and was wondering about that too. So this was very helpful to me and I am sure others too! Thanks for sharing!

You're welcome Go J !

Hey there
I am being banded soon and need to find a Dr who will 'fill' in Miami. Or near there anyway. Did you find anyone???

Hi Kizzie,

No I did not -- let me know if you should happen to find anything out. I do know of a few Dr.'s, but as I said before, the prices they want for fills under fluoro are way ridiculous.

Dr.Wizeman does fills for 150.00 if under x-ray 300.00 but most patients
only need the x-ray for first fill he is in Pompano Beach

Wow Bamagal, thank you so much for the information -- that's terrific! Did you use Dr. Wizman for your first fill? Did you like him?

Yes I used Dr.Wizeman and will continue to use him,yes I like him.

Does anyone know anything at all about the fill center in Moultrie, GA?

Dr. Kim in Celebration is great!!! He did my surgery and he is wonderful. He is leaving US Bariatrics and opening his own practice with Florida Hospital in the next month. Maybe price will be cheaper!!! Just thought I would let you know!!!

Can you provide an address and telephone number for Dr. Wizeman? Thanks.
Please respond to
komishe@yahoo.com

Here is his website you can find out anything you want to know about him
there .

I get my fills at a clinic in Tampa. Send me a private e-mail and I will give you the details. I have been to her 2 times and one fill in T.J. I think I am at my right spot of restriction. If I don't stave to death......LOL aprilk1772@hotmail.com The clinic is called Sandels Primary Health. She casts $150. w/o fluro and $75 extra for flouro. I think it may be a little more for 1st timers. Do not get it w/o flouro cause it is a guessing game then.... Get it right the first time.