Just wondering. If your insurance pays for the first band and you have complications will the insurance pay to have it removed and then "reinstalled"? Or, is this a one time shot?

Anyone have experience with this sort of thing?

It does in Australia with lots of surgeons. They often wont consider self pay for uninsured patients but charge a "gap" fee of a couple of thousand dollars - mine is $3,000 and it covers forever all follow up visits, all fills and any revision surgery.

They wont do self pay because if revision surgery is needed it quickly can get to mortgage your house levels of cost and they also insist you keep your private health insurance - no taking it out, waiting 12 months, having the op and then dropping it.

Australia's health system is way different though.

I was banded first by Cigna PPO, I had to have my band removed due to slippage just over one year later and at the same time had another band put in. Cigna HMO then paid for that. I would think that each case and each insurance company would be unique in it's outcome. Hope you don't have to test it to find out.