Thigh Lift/Lower Body Lift...ever covered by Medicare?

I was told by my PCP that I have about 15-18 pounds of excess skin on my thighs and lower body..
( My highest weight was 280, current is 146 ).. so allowing for even 15 pounds of skin, that puts me at around 130..10 pounds from my goal weight..
I have degenerative scoliosis, and I'm on full Medicare (Disabled Widows Benefits)....Any chance Medicare would pay for plastics, if they are deemed medically neccesary? The excess weight of the skin is making my mobilty an issue as well as the putting pressure on my spine..
Anyone ever had Medicare pay for skin removal?

I think the trick is going to be finding a plastic surgeon that will accept Medicare assignment. 

Is it medically necessary for you to have the surgery? You didn't mention anything about rashes or infections. If you are going to ask medicare to cover the cost of the operation, I can tell you they will probably turn you do because they will deem it cosmetic..

My PCP thinks it's neccesary due to my spine problems, carrying that much dead weight is making it hard for me to get around..is that enough for Medicare do you think?They're aware of my disability, my scoliosis is why I get Medicare.

Did you ever find the answer? Did medicare help pay for thigh lift.? I really need a thigh lift too. It limits my mobility and makes me look and feel older. I deal with it everyday.

Medicare will not guarentee coverage of any of these procedures. In general, back pain is not considered an indicator of medical necessity by most guidelines for any body contouring procedure. Thigh lifts are not considered medically necessary by most carriers under any cir****tance so you'd infer Medicare would be similar in most instances (again, Medicare will not publish any guidelines for this but reserves the right to do what they want at any time).
 
In addition, you are likely to find no surgeon who will accept medicare assighnment for these procedures. We do Medicare panniculectomies on occasion in our practice as a goodwill gesture for some of referring bariatric surgeons who have unusual patient issues (usually large hernias) or patients who will pay the balance of our normal charge for a massive weight loss abdominoplasty or body lift procedure. We would be out of business doing insurance rates (particularly medicare) on these cases which can take up a whole day of surgery and involve significant aftercare.

As an aside, I would be surprised (without seeing pictures) if you actually carry as much weight as you suggest on your thigh/trunk. It always weighs much less then you think. Even the larger patients we do (275-300lbs) rarely have 20 lbs of bulky pannus.