Cost Of Lap Band Surgery Can Be Prohibitive

By Sara Guppy

If you are researching ways to lose weight as a last resort, this method may be exactly what you were looking for, but only if you can afford the surgery. Some insurance companies will cover the cost of lap band surgery, but if you don't meet certain requirements, you might need to find ways to pay for it out of pocket.

Some insurance carriers are changing their policies about allowing either partial or full payments for these procedures. Plan on anywhere from $15,000 to over $30,000 or even more, if you plan on having the procedure done in the US.

For anyone who will need to pay the entire cost on his own, overseas doctors offer lower prices in the under $6,000 range, but having this type of surgery out of the country is never recommended if you must return home quickly. No doctor would ever recommend air travel after this type of surgery. Once home, you will still need to find a doctor to handle your frequent follow up visits and monitor your progress.

One option would be to consider going overseas. Prices are usually $5,500 or so, but traveling home after this type of surgery is uncomfortable, if not downright painful. You will still need to find a surgeon back in the US who will be willing to handle all your follow up visits - which you will need to pay for. If complications arise, you may once again be stuck with the bill.

The surgery itself is pretty standard. The surgeon performs a basic laparoscopy, making small incisions he will use to insert a small camera and other instruments necessary to find and place the band in the appropriate spt at the neck of the stomach opening. In certain cases, however, the laparoscopy is either impossible to perform or too difficult to complete, so the surgeon is forced to use more invasive procedure needing a larger incision.

Recovery times will vary depending on how the surgery goes. At the very minimum, you will be sent home and to spend a week on bed rest even with the laparoscopic process. - 31905

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