I don't know what the cost would be for a self payer. My insurance actually covered the sleeve. I had an out of pocket expense of about $2,ooo. Dr. Snyder told me he had only done about 30 sleeves, but he had done hundreds of gastric bypass procedures. He and his partner have had only one fatality and it was from post-op pulmonary embolism. I don't know if the study is still in progress, but they are also conducting a trial for the TOGA procedure.
One day post op you get a swallow test first thing in the morning. My physician personally wheeled me down to x-ray, because he wanted to see the study in person in case there were any issues.
I spent 2 nights in the hospital. I was ready to return to work (as a nurse) in one week, but took a full 2 weeks anyway (just because I deserved it).