Question:
The cost of a belt lipectomy....

I had a panniculectomy 10/27/03. Insurance paid for it. I have still a lot of excess skin and my PS surgeon said that after a few months, when the skin settled a little bit, that we would see about doing some more work. Well I went last week for my check up and to discuss the possibilities of doing some more work. He told me that I was very lucky that not too long after my panniculectomy, that insurance companies stopped paying for it. So he went over the procedure of the belt lipectomy with me. He said that I would have to pay out of pocket for it because insurance doesn't cover it. He said the surgery will be a little cheaper for me than normal because he took care of most of the work when he did my belt lipectomy. So I was just curious to those who have paid for this surgery, or have thought about it, what kind of price range where you quoted? Thank you!    — Shavonne P. (posted on March 3, 2004)

March 3, 2004
I had a belt lipectomy (along with a tt, breast lift/implants and hernia repair) in August of last year. Insurance covered the tt and hernia repair. I believe the surgeons cost for the belt lipectomy was around $4,000 - but there were also additional costs for the hospital, of course. I'm in Michigan, I'm not sure if that will make a difference. Good Luck!
   — Chloe S.

March 4, 2004
I was qouted $17,500 for tummy tuck and breast lift from Dr in Napa Ca
   — kathy B.

March 4, 2004
I don't have an answer for you, but I have a question instead - how much did your surgeon say the belt lipectomy would cost, or did he say? I'm going for my first consult next week, and I've been wondering how much it would cost to "get more done later" if I should be lucky enough to get insurance to cover the panniculectomy or abdominoplasty.
   — sandsonik

March 4, 2004
If your surgeon worded the letter to the insurance company correctly, it would not cost you anything. I had a belt lipectomy on Dec 22nd. I only paid for telephone and television in hospital. The key word is RECONSTRUCTIVE, not COSMETIC.
   — Steve B.

March 4, 2004
Steve, that is not necessarily the case with all insurance companies. My PS did submit for approval for the belt lipectomy as well as the tt. BCBS said that they will only cover the tt, as their medical review did not find the other necessary.
   — Chloe S.

March 4, 2004
Well he hasnt given me a price quote yet. He said that he is going to draw up the pricing along with hospital fees etc., and mail it to me. He did see it would be a little cheaper than normal because the hardest part was done when he did my panniculectomy. He said no matter what, insurance won't cover a belt lipectomy. If I do pay out of pocket for this surgery, does that mean I HAVE to be responsible for hospital fees as well, or can insurance pay for that??
   — Shavonne P.

March 4, 2004
I just had a lower body lift - full extended abdominoplasty and lateral thigh lift done last week. If I would have had to pay for everything myself I would have gotten a cosmetic surgery package price from one of the hospitals. They charge $650 per hour for OR use and $250 an hour for anesthesia. I think it is like $1200 a day for the hospital stay. My surgery was 10 hours and I was in the hospital 3 days so that would have been a total of $12,600 for the hospital and $7641 for the surgeon for a grand total of $20,241. Since I only had to pay for the lateral thigh lift and no hospital days, my cost ended up being $3400 for the hospital and $2547 for the surgeon. <p>Interesting piece of information though. I got a copy of all of the hospital charges this week and the total was a staggering $36,000. I have no way of knowing how they will seperate the two procedures but it should not cost me any more than the money I have already paid. The sad part is that the hospital is saying they could do everything for the $12,600 (through the cosmetic surgery package) but since it's being billed to insurance it's around $36,000. That's almost 3 times what my WLS hospital charges were ($12,800). Something is wrong with this picture. I know they have a contract with BCBS but usually those are fairly minor write-offs. It will be interesting to see what happens with all the charges.
   — zoedogcbr

March 5, 2004
My insurance covered belt lipectomy as reconstructive at 100% for the surgeon, and I only had to pay $400 to the hospital. I don't know how my surgeon got the belt lipectomy covered, because apparently it is a great rarity.
   — raye