Question:
Which is the cheapest bariatric procedure?

I have to pay out of pocket.    — ipray (posted on April 7, 2010)


April 7, 2010
Lap band for sure
   — beanieweenie

April 7, 2010
cheapest isnt always the best.. i was self pay and paid 9,995.00 for my gastric sleeve and have lost 136 lbs since june 17th!
   — callen3640

April 7, 2010
lap band appears to be the cheapest but when you have issues and have to revise a couple of years down the road..not!
   — 

April 7, 2010
Lap band. But it is only Temporary and the weight loss will be Temporary!!!!!!!!!I had Gastric Sleeve. I've lost 57 lbs. so far since Sept. 2009. Joanie Reid
   — shotseyrudi

April 7, 2010
My lap band was $16,000 in 2007. Shop around, but I would avoid going out of the country. I have heard it is hard to get a US Dr to follow up with afterwards. They didn't offer the gastric sleeve back then, but I wish that I would have had that. There is some maintenance with the band that I did not expect (I have the 'original' Lap Band-not the Realize band which I hear is better). Good Luck!
   — pattyann

April 8, 2010

   — nicolam666

April 8, 2010
Sorry, I missed out a few words in the post above. Should have said that I couldn't be considered on the NHS as my BMI not high enough.
   — nicolam666

April 9, 2010
Don't forget to figure in after care with your surgeon. With lap-band, it just doesn't work without regular visits to the surgeon to get "fills" of saline solution to tighten the band. Sometimes you have to go back several times to get it just right... and I don't think you can "economize" by asking them to do the whole fill all at once... apparently doesn't work that way. Of course, with any surgery there is the possibility of complications that require surgical intervention, so you should project what that might cost so you're not caught unable to afford necessary emergency care (hopefully you won't need that, but if you did, you'd really want to be able to pay for it). With any surgery there's regular follow-up of some sort with the surgeon. I know RNY best because it's what I had... my surgeon wants to see me every three months for the first year, then we see how I'm doing as to how often after that. This is very important, because with the malabsorptive procedures (RNY, DS for example) you HAVE to have some kinda expensive lab work done to make sure your vitamins are in line, or you can end up with some preventable but serious nutritional deficiencies (beri beri, rickets, scurvey, that sort of thing). So... make sure to think through the expense involved down the road. You don't want to be stuck in an unhealthy place because you can't afford required care. My insurance plan isn't great, and I've spent several thousand dollars I didn't expect paying copays and such for all the pre-tests my surgeon required. Fortunately my wife and I were able to re-prioritize our budget and we're ok, but there can be a lot to spend just to qualify for surgery, depending upon your surgeon.
   — Greg K.

April 11, 2010
Cost is not the issue and you will not be happy! Are you aware that you can get a loan for wls procedures.That was the main thing my surgeon discussed with me.
   — davonjack




Click Here to Return
×