Bariatric Surgery Canada: Wait Times, Insurance & Surgeon Listing
There are many experienced and well qualified surgeons for bariatric surgery Canada. But if you want insurance to pay, the wait times are likely to be frustrating.
Fortunately, you do have 2 viable options if you don't want to wait. This page will cover...
- Insurance coverage details & expected wait times by province
- Bariatric surgeon directory by province - private & public
- YOUR experiences with Canada weight loss surgery along with experiences from other visitors
Insurance Coverage Details By Province for Bariatric Surgery Canada
Why is accreditation important?
In the provider directory further down the page, you'll see an "Accreditation" line for each provider. To achieve accreditation, Canadian hospitals must pass specific care qualifications and standards established by the certifying organization. Each accrediting organization has different criteria, but in general certification is earned by passing on-site evaluations surrounding patient safety, minimum care standards and ongoing education.
Accrediting organizations in Canada include:
- Accreditation Canada (Canadian Council for Health (CCHSA))
- Canadian Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgical Facilities (CAAASF)
- Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
- College of Physicians & Surgeons for the province in which the surgeon is practicing
If your surgeon's accreditation is listed as being "not specified", be sure to ask for accreditation details when interviewing your surgeon.
Gastric bypass surgery and lap band surgery are currently the only two procedures covered by insurance in Canada, but some provinces will only pay for gastric bypass. For the provinces that cover lap band surgery, some will pay for the procedure but not for the band system itself (i.e. tubing, band and port).
While not currently covered by insurance, gastric sleeve surgery is gaining popularity with Canadian surgeons and should also be considered a viable option for surgery.
Regarding wait times, the average for weight loss surgery in Canada is 5 years according to a study conducted by a surgeon at the McGill University Health Centre1 , but some provinces have approved patients within a much shorter period of time.
If you don't want to wait, you have two options:
- Insurance may pay for you to have surgery outside of your province, although most provinces will not cover any expenses other than the surgery itself.
- Finance bariatric surgery on your own and receive treatment in a private facility. You won't be alone: public facilities only perform about one-third of all bariatric surgeries in Canada, while private-pay clinics account for the remaining two-thirds.1
Following are the insurance weight loss surgery and wait time details by province. Click your province's name to jump down to the province's directory of surgeons (provinces without links don't have surgeons listed)...
| Province |
Procedures covered by health insurance | Estimated waiting time at public facilities | Will province pay to have treatment elsewhere? | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| References: 1, 2 Contact us to suggest a surgeon for our directory. |
||||
| Alberta |
|
1.5 to 10 months | Unknown | |
| British Columbia |
|
12 to 24 months | Possibly | |
| Manitoba |
|
unknown | Yes | |
| New Brunswick |
|
6 months | Yes | |
| Newfoundland and Labrador (no surgeons listed) |
|
n/a (no bariatric surgeons in province) | Yes | |
| Nova Scotia (no surgeons listed) |
|
unknown | Yes | |
| Ontario |
(Lap band surgery is not currently covered but may be covered soon) |
Initial appointment: 6 months to 1 year (actual surgery scheduled 2 to 8 weeks after initial appointment) |
Yes | |
| Prince Edward Island (no surgeons listed) |
|
n/a (no bariatric surgeons in province) | Yes | |
| Quebec |
|
3 to 13 years | No | |
| Saskatchewan |
|
4 months to 3 years | Yes | |
Bariatric Surgery Canada Provider Directory
After reviewing the information found at the above links, click the provider's name below to go to their web site for more information (not all have links) or use the phone numbers provided to contact them directly. If you are close to the U.S. border and are willing to travel for surgery, you can also search the United States bariatric surgeon directory.
Click the following to jump to providers in your province for bariatric surgery Canada (provinces not included have no listed surgeons)...
Having (or had) weight loss surgery in Canada?
Please share your Canada weight loss surgery experiences below!
Disclaimer: Bariatric Surgery Source is not responsible for the content of the sites we link to or the services offered by their organizations. The inclusion of the information below does not necessarily imply or express endorsement or sponsorship of the sites, their website's content or their services. The accuracy of the below information is not guaranteed and is subject to change.
Alberta
Surgeries performed: gastric bypass surgery, lap band surgery, gastric sleeve surgery
Accreditation: Accreditation Canada
British Columbia
Lap-Band at False Creek Healthcare Centre
Accreditation: Canadian Council for Health (CCHSA) and the College of Physicians & Surgeons of British Columbia/Manitoba
Surgeries performed: lap band surgery
Accreditation: not specified
Surgeries performed: gastric bypass surgery, lap band surgery, gastric sleeve surgery
Accreditation: not specified
Surgeries performed: gastric bypass surgery, lap band surgery
Accreditation: not specified
Surgeries performed: gastric bypass surgery, lap band surgery, gastric sleeve surgery
Manitoba
Accreditation: Canadian Council for Health (CCHSA) and the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Manitoba
Surgeries performed: lap band surgery
New Brunswick
Ontario
Accreditation: not specified
Surgeries performed: lap band surgery
Humber River Regional Hospital
Accreditation: Accreditation Canada
Surgeries performed: not specified
Accreditation: Canadian Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgical Facilities (CAAASF)
Surgeries performed: lap band surgery
Quebec
Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal
Accreditation: Accreditation Canada
Surgeries performed: gastric bypass surgery, lap band surgery, gastric sleeve surgery, duodenal switch
Hôpital Ste-Croix de Drummondville
Accreditation: not specified
Surgeries performed: lap band surgery
McGill University Health Centre
Accreditation:
Surgeries performed: not specified
Accreditation: not specified
Surgeries performed: lap band surgery
Accreditation: not specified
Surgeries performed: lap band surgery
Accreditation: not specified
Surgeries performed: lap band surgery
Surgeries performed: gastric bypass surgery, lap band surgery, gastric sleeve surgery
Accreditation: Accreditation Canada
Saskatchewan
Bariatric Surgical Assessment Clinic
Surgeries performed: gastric bypass surgery
Accreditation: Accreditation Canada
Receive obesity surgery in Canada? Please share your experiences and advice
Long wait times and deciding between private and public bariatric treatment in Canada make the decision to move forward with surgery all the more daunting.
Please help other visitors like you by sharing your experiences, thoughts or advice, such as...
- A review of your surgeon, their team and their facilities
- How you paid for surgery
- How long you had to wait
- What you did to get surgery approved
- Anything else you think is important to know!
Canada obesity surgery experiences from other visitors
Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...
Ottowa Hospital - My Weight Loss Surgery Experience So Far
Anyone thinking of going to the Ottawa Hospital for gastric bypass surgery--think again!
Originally in 2009, I had been referred to Hamilton for the ...
Gastric Bypass Surgery in New Brunswick, Canada When I first mentioned having gastric bypass surgery done to my family physician in Canada, he didn't know the first thing about how to begin the process....
Ontario Wait Times for Weight Loss Surgery I was originally on a list in Hamilton and waited at least 1 year before Ontario came up with more money and my name was sent to Ottawa. By the time my ...
Would liver disease because of weight be considered more urgent than other health issues?
I have been diagnosed with liver disease and the only way to repair it is to lose weight. I have fought my weight all my life so I am scared.
My doctor ...
Alberta Lap Band Surgery I want to have lap band surgery, but at a public clinic . I understand in Alberta the surgery is covered by Health Care. I don't know how I am really supposed ...
Ontario- Lapband Not worth the money!!! In 2003, I paid $15,000, drove to Montreal (because SARS made it impossible to have the surgery in Scarborough Grace as planned)...
For additional research, search for your topic...
Also see...
References
- Hodges, David. Obesity: Not sexy enought to treat? The Medical Post. Apr 2009.
- Obesity Surgery: Availability Across the Country. CBC News. Available at: http://www.cbc.ca/news/
interactives/map-obesitysurgery/. Accessed Feb 24, 2010.
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