Cost

I'm new to this and my husband finally agreed to let me have the surgery. His only question was how much does it cost. I already know that his insurance doesn't cover this and it is kinda upsetting. He said that we would get it financed. All he cares about is making me happy. Can anyone please give me a rough estimate for the lapband surgery and the gastric bypass. I would appreciate it!

Lap band is usually cheaper (the "usually" part is based on whether or not the surgeon encounters an unexpected event). Dr. Steven Tersigni has been running a special lately for a $10,000 lap band. In the US that is an INCREDIBLE price. My lap band (at Legacy's Obesity Institute) it was about $30,000 before the insurance "discounts". I think that the discounts actually got the cost down to about $17,000 but I would have had to pay more if I didn't have insurance. I *believe* I was told that RNY would have been roughly $10,000 more at Legacy. If you are self-pay you'll need to know a couple of things. First, if you do have lap band you'll need to find a local surgeon who will oversee your case unless you plan on going back to see Dr. T for follow-up care. You will need to certainly have a fill doctor in place. Many docs won't work on other surgeon's patients so you need to have that arranged in advance. Second, if you have complications -- regardless of surgery type -- you are probably going to be held responsible for them by the insurance company. For example, if you have gallbladder problems and it needs to be removed because of your weight loss, you'll probably be able to have that covered but if you have a bleed, get an infection at a surgery site or something like that you'll be responsible for the bills. I don't know how a hernia or twisted bowel or something like that would be handled, though. And, even though my surgery and aftercare have been paid for by my husband's insurance company, I'm not in the clear, either. If their insurance policy changes my aftercare may not be covered so, even though I was banded in 2005, I'm still a bit nervous. I'm not trying to discourage you in the least. Just give you more things to research. People have claimed that the WLS for Dummies book is great. I haven't looked at it. It just might mention what insurance would or would not pay for. Believe me, during my "research" phase I was on the phone every other day with the insurance company asking if they'd cover this or that. I was actually really surprised at what they wouldn't cover because they considered it a consequence of the surgery -- even if it happened years later... Anyway, here's some information on Dr. T. I don't work for him nor have I even met him but I've heard most people really think he does a great job (and, in addition to lap band, he does do RNY). You may want to call and see how much a typical RNY costs as well. I know Coos Bay and I know it is a pretty depressed economy so I know cost of living is a bit less there than other areas in the state so their fees can also be a little less. Lori Here's the OH page for Dr. T's patients: http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/bariatric+surgeon+profile+Steven+Tersigni+dkd.htm l and here's Dr. T's website: http://www.baybariatrics.com/

Hi Pamela, I am a self pay too and am scheduled for April 13th. I am in Olympia and am seeing Dr. Ogle of Pacific Surgical and I am paying 17,000.00 dollars. This includes the consultation, surgery,the anithesiologist,all your check ups and fills for a year. It also includes the pre op tests. After the year if you need a fill it's 150 dollars for their patients and 350 dollars for people who they didn't do the surgery on. They are quite well known here for their lap band practice. I have researched this for years and this is quite a good offer especially for all that's included. I would check the Kent area tho because I think it's a good idea to find someone as close to home as you can so if you need attention for any reason you don't have to drive so far. This price is the best I found for my area unless you went to Mexico but again there's the distance thing and you have to find a doctor up here to agree to work with you and they usually aren't very willing plus you pay extra charges for the fills and such. I hoped this helped you some but feel to ask me any questions and I'll do my best for ya. Talk to you soon, Debbie

Pamela, Okay here's my info. I got lap RNY with Dr Chebli at Northwest Hospital in Seattle (and I highly recommend him!!!!). Total cash price was just under $22,000. They work with Capital One financing which is what I did. My insurance covered all of my pre op appt except for the nutritionist which was $250 for three appoitments. The only other issue that you should be aware of is that if your insurance doesn't cover the surgery it will also probably not cover any complications that might arise after surgery. These complications can get very expensive and the unfortunately complications are a reality with this surgery. I haven't had any complications *knocking on wood* and am 4 months out. But I made sure I understood what the national averages are for complications as well as what Dr Chebli's personal complication rates are. Any surgeon should be more than willing to talk to you about their personal rates. Hope that helps for now. Corinna Q

Corinna, Excellent point about the complications and definitely reinforces what Lori said. I think my doctor's self-pay cost for a RNY is around $45k (I'm not self-pay so that is just anecdotal from what I've overheard at support group meetings). One of the very common complications is strictures and they run around $3k for each EGD with dilation. I've had three so far and luckily my insurance has covered each treatment. Molly

I am having lap RNY on April 10th with Dr. Lauter in Bellevue. The surgeon fee is $8,000 and the Hospital fee is $16,000. All doctors have different fees. We got our financing through Capital One. Good Luck Kira

Hi Pamela - don't forget to check out the duodenal switch forum on this website for great info and compare it to the RNY bypass. I think you will find the weight loss is better and not as much chance of regain as the band or the RNY. The duodenal switch forum will be happy to answer your questions and help you compare. Also if you have no ins, it is much more affordable to go to an out of the country surgeon (think Brazil or Spain or Mexico). Good luck with whatever you decide. Lynn Kent (leaving Sat for Brazil !)

Pamula- I am also researching cost of lapband as I will be paying out of pocket as well. I got on Dr.Oh's sight(tacoma wa) and he is running a special for the lapband for 12,800.00. I see many specials for in mexico but I was worried about the distance and saftey of it. Mabye someone here has gone out of the states and can share their opinions. Lapband surgerys including air fare is as low as 7000.00 in mexico for everything from what I can see. Good luck Robin