Questions about Panniculectomy

Hi - I just got approved by Insurance for a Panniculectomy.  I have a pre-op with the doctor in a week.  What should I ask?  Please anyone that has had this procedure and knows what I should ask the doctor would be greatly appreciated.  I read on this forum once about making sure the Doctor does something with the pubis?  Not sure because I can no longer search topics since the new format change.  Whatever information you can offer would help me before I go to the Pre-op.  Thanks so much - debbie

Ask him if he lifts the mons - the mons lift is what you can't remember!

Ask him if he will do a full tummy tuck for an additional fee.  Sometimes, if insurance if approving the panni, the surgeon will just go ahead and do the works either for free or for a small additional fee since the big expense is being covered.  Ask about scar location, drains, belly button (will it move or not or will he remove it completely).  Ask him how he closes you (stitches, staples, or glue) and what scar treatment he does/recommends.  Does he require/recommend compression garments.  What kind of pain management will he provide.

That's all that comes to mind at the moment.  Congratulations on getting insurance to cover!

When I had my tummy tuck I looked into having insurance pay for the panniculectomy portion.  The 5 doctors I visited for consultations said that the skin removal is a very tiny element of the tummy tuck surgery and it would only reduce the cost by about $1000.  Most of the effort for a tummy tuck is moving the belly button and working to tighten the underlying muscles.  They said that the panni portion would take such a small amount of time that almost all the anesthesiology and OR fee would be considered part of the TT.  All of recovery and post op care would also be deemed part of the TT, not panniculectomy.

 

Definitely ask if they are moving your belly button.  Even if I had insurance pay for the panni, my insurance would not cover the belly button move since it's deemed cosmetic.  Have the doctor describe what skin will be removed and if there will be a "lift" below the incision line.

That was what I was told, as well, that maybe $2k would be covered for panni removal and the remainder of the fee would be deemed cosmetic and self pay.

Ask what it would cost to upgrade to a full abdominoplasty. Everyone I know in real life who only had the panni was highly disappointed.

I am going in Monday.  My insurance covers the panniculectomy, and the surgeon is charging $2,000 for the muscle tightening and rearranging the belly button part.  I asked at the office if there would be additional charges from the surgical center or anesthesiologist, but was told not typically.   Only problem with that answer is that I did not ask the right person, so here is hoping I don't get a nasty surprise.

Don't forget to make sure your Mons Pubis will be lifted with the Belly button reposition and the muscle tightening.

What did you have to do for insurance to pay for this? And do you have BCBS by chance?

I have BCBS and they paid for the panni removal portion of my TT. It was covered because I met three of the four requirements of my policy (different plans cover different things): weight loss over 100 pounds, maintained for over one year, and a history of rashes and prescriptions for a minimum of six months documented by doctors. I'm now researching my policy to see if the TT portion could have been covered as medically necessary, in which case I'll file a claim.

SUPER to know. Thank you!!