Cost Of Lap Band Surgery Can Be Prohibitive

by Sara Guppy on February 1, 2010 · weight loss

in weight loss

Finding ways to lose weight can be stressful. Diet after diet proves useless, so what happens? People look for an easy solution. Surgery. The newest fad is lap band surgery, but is the cost of lap band surgery a possibility for most?

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.

In order to be considered a candidate for the surgery, and to have the insurance company pick up the tab, or at least a portion, you will need to be morbidly obese. This includes having a BMI (body mass index) of about 35 \’ 40 along with a condition that is considered deadly if not controlled by weight.

There\’s one basic procedure that is done \’ multiple small incisions are made in the thoracic and abdominal region through which cameras and instruments are inserted, and the lap band itself. However, last minute complications might occur that force the surgeon to give up with the laparoscopy and proceed with a more invasive abdominal 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.

Cost of lap band surgery is a type of weight loss surgery; it\’s a fairly straight forward and safe surgical procedure. This surgery dates back a couple of decades and is one of the safest and quickest forms of this sort of surgery. More info on this as well as Medical Tourism .

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