Combine surgery with Gallbladder removal - Save money?

Kahuna · June 25, 2007

Hello

I've been considering having one of these band thingys installed for some time. I'm self employed and will likely be self pay as my insurance blows. I recently found out that I need to have my Gallbladder removed. Any thoughts on if I can combine the two surgeries to minimize time off word and costs? Also, any DR recommendations in San Diego

Thanks

faithmd · June 25, 2007

Hello Kahuna and welcome to LBT!

Many surgeons do not like to remove your gallbladder at the same time as placing the band due to increased risks of complications with the surgery and with infection. They will more often remove the gallbladder when doing a RNY than when placing a band.

Self-pay packages are coded differently than insurance paid procedures, it would be worth talking with a surgeon about. But being in the San Diego area you are close enough to Mexico to take advantage of the wonderful surgeons there. I would reccommend you start by looking into Dr. Aceves or Dr. Ortiz, you can do a search on here for them, or look in the Mexico forum. They are both good surgeons with good reputations. There are more wonderful surgeons from Mexico, but those are the first two names that popped into my head. If you choose to go out of your area for surgery, just be aware that you need to set up aftercare and fills with someone close to home BEFORE you go for surgery. But again, being so close to Mexico, if you should choose to go with a Mexican surgeon, you could fairly easily return for fills/follow-up.

valzie · June 25, 2007

I asked my doctor that same question because I had heard that some doctors will remove the gb at the same time. He said no because the band is sterile and the gall bladder can be messy removal and cause infection.

Kahuna · June 26, 2007

Well now that's not great. If nothing else, I'm just a plain wimp and going through two surgeries may make me chicken out.

My GP MD had said that he thought it might be tough, mostly because one is elective and one isn’t. And they don’t want to mix the two for payment / insurance reasons mostly. I think its worth looking into more, but I really don’t know any DR’s to even talk to about it as most seem to want you to go through there seminar before even taking a phone call or answering an email.

Boy it’d be tough to get myself to go to Mexico for surgery. I’m sure they are fantastic DR’s (maybe better than in the states?). I love Mexico, and live only about 15 min away. I’ve got friends that live all over the country. I’ve worked there and traveled there and I love the people. But it would be tough to do something that scares the hell out of me in a place, well …that can scare the hell out of me. Anyway that’s my own dumb problem I need to try to get over and topic for another day.

Thanks

faithmd · June 26, 2007

Some of the Mexican surgeons were the proctors who taught the first US surgeons to place the band. No one in this hemisphere is more experienced than some of the surgeons in Mexico.

Kahuna · June 26, 2007

No doubt the surgeons are skilled. Its more the Mexican bureaucracy I have issues with and the thought of having to deal with it if something goes wrong.

Anyway, I didn't mean to get off on a tangent like that.

Thanks