Scared about band and self pay

[biggysmalls 0]

Hey guys, I decided to self pay lap band. I am now worried because what if the band slips or something goes wrong? Would I have to self pay for all of that? Please help. :cursing::wink2:

[denibun 0]

It depends on your doc. Mine had specifics written out. For example, the amount I paid covered everything including fills and follow up for a year. I don't have it with me, but I think it covered slips for 2 years except I would have to pay the anesthesia fee.

[MacMadame 81]

It's going to depend on your insurance but most of them won't pay to have the band removed. That was my situation.

This is one of the reasons I changed my mind about the band and went for a sleeve. If you want to know more, come to the "Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy" forum here on LBT or PM me.

[Florida Pete 1]

Well what are the actual chances for slippage? That is a question I ask myself. I am self pay also so I do understand your concern.

[ivytone 0]

I am a self-pay and I have the same concerns. My surgery will be performed in Mexico; therefore, I am having to have my fills here in the States. I can go back to Mexico for the fills, but I have decided to use Fill USA. I have an appointment on Saturday to check out the facility and talk to the doctor. Hopefully this will ease my fears and I can make that call to the surgeon asking to be put on the calendar

[Losing 2 0]

Self-pay is just that... SCARY:eek:.

Having said that, I'm thinking you could call a whole bunch of places (like I did) to find out the EXACT self-pay policies. They will give you the total facts on this. Some cover allll sorts of things and some don't. I learned a whole lot about self-pay, possible problems, etc. before I chose a place. I decided [in my own head] that I would opt for this place that charged less even though they didn't cover as much as many other places do. I chose this because outside of being obese x3 and mild sleep apnea, I'm pretty much healthy and am a very compliant patient. With that, I asked this surgeon a few questions about possible hernia's, etc. once he's in the midst of surgery. He says he doesn't charge for things he needs to take care of BUT, the patient would need to pay any additional hospital charges. There are many places nation-wide that cover unseen problems, etc. Call, call and keep calling. Many of them have details on their websites.

I wish you much luck, but I was totally speachless the day before my surgery, because I was still SCARED about self-pay. But decided I wanted this too bad and I planned to do the best I can to make the best of this... and just like the financing/cash came forth to get it done - I'd have to deal with any mishaps - but I am PRAYING that all will be very well.

And I pray the same for you!:wink2:

[Nanook 2]

Hey guys, I decided to self pay lap band. I am now worried because what if the band slips or something goes wrong? Would I have to self pay for all of that? Please help. :eek::biggrin:

I worry about that all the time with self-pay people. No one wants it to go wrong, I didn't expect mine not to work and to have it removed a year later but I was fortunate in that I have good insurance coverage.

If I did not have insurance in the first place and had to borrow money to do it I would not have. My own personal choice. I would read up on the various comps that can happen and definitely check with your insurance company ahead of time to make sure if something goes wrong you will have the means to cover it. Just one night in the hospital can put you back $1,000s. So make a sound decision before you get banded unless of course you have money to burn, good luck to you Nancy.

[MacMadame 81]

Well what are the actual chances for slippage?

LapBand posts something like 3.7% on their site. That's a world-wide figure and it's rather old.

However, it's not just slippage, but also erosion, port flipping, port leaking, band leaking and other band malfunctions. Port flipping is really common but the surgery is pretty minor. I think it's an office procedure. (Though the last time I had an office "surgery" they charged my insurance about $1500 bucks. Good grief.)

There have been some scary studies released lately about long term complications with the band. There is one Swedish study that claims over the past 10 years, the re-surgery rate is a whopping 40%! Honestly, I find that very unbelievable -- they must be doing something wrong.

But other studies have shown rates as high as 25% over a similar period. That's 1 in 4!

This is a case where you really need to find out what your surgeon's stats are. My surgeon's slippage stat is only around 2%. However, they have seen at least 10% get complications that require a "resurgery". You need to know if your insurance will cover that or if it's all going to be on you.

[Michee 2]

Hello

I too am self pay........but all my fills, defills, complications (slippage, ruptured tubing, etc etc) are covered.

As was already said, do your research, find a reputable doc and clinic, and make sure you READ everything thoroughly, and make sure that any "promises of aftercare" are in writing.

I paid 16k for my band, including aftercare. It would be a bargain at twice the price !

[MacMadame 81]

I too was very worried about slippage from reading posts on here. My doctor finally told me when I thought maybe my port had slipped, that he stitched the port to my stomach or some where and that it was impossible that it slipped.

Slippage has nothing to do with your port. It's when your band loosens up or moves and often a piece of the rest of the stomach rolls up under the band and gets pinched. If it doesn't get addressed immediately, you risk having that part of the stomach tissue die, which can be very serious. Sometimes slippage can be fixed by simply unfilling the band. Sometimes if you do that, the pinched part will slide back down where it's supposed to b and the band settles back in place. Unfortunately, though, once you slip once, you tend to be prone to slippage. Equally unfortunately sometimes an unfill isn't enough to get the band and stomach back where they can be and the band has to be removed.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

I too was very worried about slippage from reading posts on here. My doctor finally told me when I thought maybe my port had slipped, that he stitched the port to my stomach or some where and that it was impossible that it slipped.

Iv also had two fills under fluoro where you can see the band and the port and watch the barium flow into your stomach. A few times of seeing it on a screen, should help allay fears.

I do feel that not having fills under fluor you are taking a risk, small risk yes, that they poke the tubing of the band. Iv heard of it happening. With fluoro the doctor can see the port and she wouldnt miss and be poking around trying to hit the port. If you are worried like I was, find a fill doctor that does the fills under fluoro.

I think you are confusing terms here. Your port doesn't slip, your band does. Your port is sutured to a muscle or connective tissue, NOT your stomach.

There is no such thing as an impossible slip as long as you have a band. A slip is where (usually) the posterior stomach slips up through the band. The band doesn't move, the stomach does. No such thing as no chance of a slip.

There is no such thing as resolving fears of a slip. A slip can happen to anyone regardless of their doctor. Mexican docs perfected the surgical technique to help prevent slips but that is not a promise. You are at the same risk for a slip as anyone else.

Ports.. ports can flip regardless of surgical technique. Your body will condense as it shrinks, your doctor has no control over where your body pushes and moves your port. It can flip regardless of your docs claims.

I love my sleeve, it can do none of the above. ;o)

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

I know the difference, but thanks. I meant I was worried about everything, about ports flipping over and being sideways and having trouble filling them if they flipped. I use wrong words, maybe its dyslexia, and also worried longer term about the band itself slipping.

I think its normal to have some worries about the whole process. I was saying I worried before, but now that things are normal Im not so worried. flipped slippage, wrong word. I was tryping fast. I knew what I meant.

Hi Flowers...

No, this is not a case of dyslexia, this is just a misunderstanding of what can go wrong with a band. A port flip is the least of your worries, a slip is much more of an issue. Erosion... even worse.

Good luck to you!

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Well what are the actual chances for slippage? That is a question I ask myself. I am self pay also so I do understand your concern.

That would be about 7+% according to Inamed at a recent bandster bash.

[Ange05 0]

I self payed for my surgery.

But as soon as the surgery was over I took out a hospital cover only policy which will cover me in case I have to go back in if something does go wrong.

The other thing with self pay is if something does go wrong during your operation and the surgery is prolonged you will have to pay for probably extra time spent in surgery for your surgeon and any hospital extras.

I was in surgery for an extra half an hour because I had a hernia repaired that they only found when they opened me up. So after that happened I had to pay an extra $250.00 to the hospital and $250.00 to my surgeon.

I would take out hospital cover NOW and that will cover you if you need to go back in. I already spent a fortune on my surgery and I certainly could not afford to go back in if I wasn't covered by insurance.

My surgeon will go back in to surgery for free if something goes wrong within the first 12 months.

Better to be safe than sorry.

Edited October 11, 2008 by Ange05

[MacMadame 81]

There is also something called BLIS which is a form of insurance that you can buy that will pay for complications. However, it's not something a lot of surgeons belong to unfortunately.

But it's worth checking out if you are a self-pay.