Money a Concern

[SBeezley1 0]

Hello,

I'm new to this forum and need lap band surgery to help me lose over 200 pounds.

My husband is on disability and I have no insurance coverage, so finding a qualified professional to perform my surgery affordably is obviously important to us. Fortunately, we still have good credit.

For various reasons, we have decided leaving the country for this surgery is not an option for us.

The most affordable surgery I have found to date is in Detroit at $11,500. For the right price, we could travel virtually anywhere in the US for the procedure.

Could anyone suggest a realistic option for me, preferably in the Eastern US?

Thank you so much for your assistance and advice.

SB

[princess_n_thep 2]

Maybe someone will chime in here but I know that there is a clinical study happening in New York City. I was already banded when I checked it out. I know I found it somewhere on here so maybe you might want to do some browsing in the search area for New York and study?

[maziemommy 8]

I got a loan for zero percent interest for three years from capitalonehealthcare or capitalonehealthfinance??? It's online and gives you an instant answer ... catch for me was the surgeon needs to be listed with them... mine was, but very hard find his info on there (and you must click on cosmetic procedure)...... and if any balance is left at end of time frame, 19.99% adds on for whole loan amount!

I also did not want to go out of US. I had mine done locally in Missouri where I live but for 17,000.

Good luck!!! Best wishes for a solution!! I too need to drop 200#, and just got started.

[Lucy 0]

My surgeon (in south Florida) charges around $14000 to $15000. I am having some issues with the financing, and it looks like I am going to get a personal loan from my bank.

Although I completely understand the difficulty of coming up with enough money to pay for the surgery, don't assume the cheapest doctor is always the best. Do a lot of research on your surgeon to make sure he/she is very experienced. Saving a few grand now could lead to spending way more later if there are complications from a bargain doc.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Although I completely understand the difficulty of coming up with enough money to pay for the surgery, don't assume the cheapest doctor is always the best. Do a lot of research on your surgeon to make sure he/she is very experienced. Saving a few grand now could lead to spending way more later if there are complications from a bargain doc.

I couldn't agree more. There is a doc in Denver that does them for shy of $10K but he's only done a little over 100 bands. Not nearly enough to get the technique down pat and complete the learning curve ALL docs have to experience before they are considered experienced.

[Iluvharleys 15]

It's best if you can find a surgeon near you, after surgery you will still have to have fills and be taken care of. Most doctors won't take on a patient that was banded somewhere else. I would find a place near me that I didn't have to worry about traveling to get to every time I had a concern. Good Luck!

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Dr. Simpson in Phoenix, AZ does them for (I think) $16,500. I don't believe that includes all the extra testing and evals but I could be in error. If you post on the AZ board you might get better details.

[Snaggletooth 0]

I couldn't agree more. There is a doc in Denver that does them for shy of $10K but he's only done a little over 100 bands. Not nearly enough to get the technique down pat and complete the learning curve ALL docs have to experience before they are considered experienced.

You consider 100, not enough experience ? What do you think is a good amount ?

[mannamay 0]

Dr. Rincon, which is my doc in San Antonio Texas, does them for $12,000 which includes: Surgeon, Anesthesiologist, Lap Band and surgery center fees. Also includes Lap Band Fills, adjustments, and follow-up visits up to one year.

Website is: www.saweightlosscenter.com

Hope this helps.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

You consider 100, not enough experience ? What do you think is a good amount ?

A minimum of 250.

When I was researching for myself I didn't consider anyone that had done less than 750 but that is extreme. In looking back 500 would have been just as good.

The reason is, according to experienced docs, by the time you have done 250 bands you have seen, experienced, and treated just about every weird and bizarre thing there is. You have seen every possible xray, anatomy, infection, surigical complication for banding, etc.

There is a learning curve with this procedure. The band can't be too high, it can't be too low, there can't be too many sutures, there can't be too few sutures, the sutures can't be too tight, they can't be too loose. Otherwise bad things happen.

By the time a surgeon has been doing bands long enough to have the need to take someone back to surgery to repair a port that broke away from the fascia, repair a slip that was the fault of the MD vs. the patient, whatever... by the time he has done enough bands that he has to start taking people back to OR to fix his mistakes then the learning curve is complete.

Fluoros are another issue. By the time he has done 250 bands he has likely done a gazillion fills and has seen tons of fluoros. By 250 bands he has seen every weird thing that can be seen on fluoro. Some docs need lots of films to see the same thing another can see in one film. For example, when I was having problems with my band in the beginning I had docs telling me I needed a fluoro with my band completely closed and this was supposed to show a type of slip not seen on a standard barium swallow fluoro. Later I discovered that is not true, it was a lack of experience that led him to believe this. In a few more thousand fluoros he too, will be able to see all slips with an open band. I went back to my own doc and he diagnosed my problem easily.

Banding is EASY! Very simple. But there is still a learning curve. Think about knitting. The first project someone makes - the stitches are of different size, it might be lop sided, etc. While basic knitting is easy it takes practice and time to make perfection. When I'm having surgery, I want as close to perfection as humanly possible. If someone wants to practice drawing blood on me, hey... I'm there. I've let lots of people learn to/practice drawing blood on my arms. But surgery? Nope, I'm going with someone who already has experience.

When I was researching for myself I asked a LOT of verrrry experienced docs (1000 or more bands) what they believe "experienced" to be and every single one said 250. By that time they had seen it all and done it all when it comes to banding. I expected their answer to be much higher as that would have excluded many other docs, but they didn't. They all said 250.

For *me* I would still stick with 500. The more they do the better their stats. Also, if you'll notice, the fewer the bands the cheaper the doc tends to be. Why do you suppose that is? They are working on getting experienced and then they too, can charge what other docs are charging. But as long as people shop for price instead of experience that just means the rest of us get to go with experience. They already practiced on the others.

[Snaggletooth 0]

A minimum of 250.

When I was researching for myself I didn't consider anyone that had done less than 750 but that is extreme. In looking back 500 would have been just as good.

The reason is, according to experienced docs, by the time you have done 250 bands you have seen, experienced, and treated just about every weird and bizarre thing there is. You have seen every possible xray, anatomy, infection, surigical complication for banding, etc.

There is a learning curve with this procedure. The band can't be too high, it can't be too low, there can't be too many sutures, there can't be too few sutures, the sutures can't be too tight, they can't be too loose. Otherwise bad things happen.

By the time a surgeon has been doing bands long enough to have the need to take someone back to surgery to repair a port that broke away from the fascia, repair a slip that was the fault of the MD vs. the patient, whatever... by the time he has done enough bands that he has to start taking people back to OR to fix his mistakes then the learning curve is complete.

Fluoros are another issue. By the time he has done 250 bands he has likely done a gazillion fills and has seen tons of fluoros. By 250 bands he has seen every weird thing that can be seen on fluoro. Some docs need lots of films to see the same thing another can see in one film. For example, when I was having problems with my band in the beginning I had docs telling me I needed a fluoro with my band completely closed and this was supposed to show a type of slip not seen on a standard barium swallow fluoro. Later I discovered that is not true, it was a lack of experience that led him to believe this. In a few more thousand fluoros he too, will be able to see all slips with an open band. I went back to my own doc and he diagnosed my problem easily.

Banding is EASY! Very simple. But there is still a learning curve. Think about knitting. The first project someone makes - the stitches are of different size, it might be lop sided, etc. While basic knitting is easy it takes practice and time to make perfection. When I'm having surgery, I want as close to perfection as humanly possible. If someone wants to practice drawing blood on me, hey... I'm there. I've let lots of people learn to/practice drawing blood on my arms. But surgery? Nope, I'm going with someone who already has experience.

When I was researching for myself I asked a LOT of verrrry experienced docs (1000 or more bands) what they believe "experienced" to be and every single one said 250. By that time they had seen it all and done it all when it comes to banding. I expected their answer to be much higher as that would have excluded many other docs, but they didn't. They all said 250.

For *me* I would still stick with 500. The more they do the better their stats. Also, if you'll notice, the fewer the bands the cheaper the doc tends to be. Why do you suppose that is? They are working on getting experienced and then they too, can charge what other docs are charging. But as long as people shop for price instead of experience that just means the rest of us get to go with experience. They already practiced on the others.

Thanks, my doc has 350, at least that's what's posted on the OH site. :nervous

[faithmd 14]

Well, I'll be seeing a doc who has done about 50 bands and I'm pretty comfortable with the conversation I've had with him and his former patients, not to mention the reviews I've read of him by former patients, and have read some of the articles he's co-authored. Would I prefer to have a surgeon who has placed 250 bands? Probably, but at this time in my life I've fought to get my insurance to pay for this, and this is who they will pay for. One of the other doc's they pay for has placed tons of bands, but I don't like the less than stellar business practices of her office. I may be comfortable with her surgical skills, but I also have to have a good feel for the person behind the hands. I want a surgeon who will be honest with me. I like the reviews of the surgical practice I'm going with, and they have one of the very lowest mortality rates in the US for WLS. Only 2 deaths in well over 2,000 procedures (and they were early in the practice, were RNY patients and had some significant co-morbidities).

In terms of going elsewhere, in my area I can only find one doc who will take care of someone else's band and she wants a RIDICULOUS amount of money up front (yep the same surgeon as above). I do not have the money to be flying back and forth to a surgeon for fills if I paid out of pocket for the band either in Denver or Mexico or Toronto, etc.

According to Inamed (the makers of the LapBand system) they consider a surgeon who has placed 100 bands to be an "expert" and that surgeon is can be cleared to be a proctor for other surgeons and teach them to place the band.

I agree with WasaBB about the knitting analogy and think it's a pretty good one. But on the other hand, I am comfortable with my chosen newer knitter. Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Aceves and Dr. Rumbault placed their first and tenth and thirtieth bands at one time, too.

That having been said, I personally would absolutely not be going to someone for the FIRST band in their program (which is why I'm not going to UM, they haven't placed one yet), nor would I likely go to someone for their tenth, but at about fifty, after some very pointed questions (that I know what the answers should be) were answered thoughtfully and very honestly, I'm comfortable. But that is just me. I've been in medicine for a looong time, I know what to ask. I get a good feel for slick surgeons, and for honest ones.

The bottom line is you have to be comfortable.

[beachgirl 2]

Just make sure your doctor has done several, not just 100 or so and make sure it is in a full scale hospital with a trauma unit and not a clinic. It will make all of the difference in the world should a problem arrise. I had mine done in Mexico only because the hospitals there were more upscale than here, the surgeon had done over 7000 now and lost no one and the care was fabulous and I could afford it at 8500.00 cash and free fills for life and then they sent me a 1000.00 refund. Good luck and just really do your research.