I am having to self pay for my lap band. I live south of Fort Worth and have been investigating doctors in the Dallas Fort Worth area. Who would you recommend and if so, how much did you have to pay? I have looked as far as Mesquite, but prefer someone in Fort Worth. I am just not hearing of any doctors in the Fort Worth area to even check out! I have checked out Dr. Snow and he is my favorite, but also the most expensive.

ANY INPUT would be VERY much appreciated!!! Im getting exhausted and a little obsessed staying on the computer all the time! Is there a chat room yall go to?

Ginger:tired

You asked a question very few people like to answer. Whether they are self-pay or had insurance pay part, very few people are comfortable discussing costs. Me I don't personally care. I'm a Medicare patient and I'm hoping they will pay. If they don't the surgeon is $10,000 and the hospital is $10,000, which I can work with as I worked at that hospital for years and I know I can work something out with them. People often go to Mexico because you can get the complete surgery for between $9000-$10,000. I personally would not do it. My surgery includes all the aftercare and fills and I don't want to be far from the dr.

It's an issue I asked when I first joined and people just don't like talking about the cost of their surgery. Everyone is probably in a different situation. You can look up some lap banding on the net and get some prices in Mexico, and you can call around. I just talked to someone the other day from the Dallas/Fort Worth area, so she may read this and give you some info.

Whatever you choose I wish you luck. I think if you are basically young and healthy you could go to Monterrey, Mexico and probably do great. If you have existing medical problems that need ongoing care you should probably stay here. It's a very personal decision.

Whatever you decide good luck.

I was also a self-pay, went to Dr. Richard Benevides in Richardson, TX. His procedure includes the band, one year of fills for $15K. So far, I've been VERY pleased with him, his staff and my procedure. I'm 10 days post-op now and am doing great. I hope that helps.

I went the self-pay route as well. My surgeon was Dr. Thomas Lavin at Surgical Specialists of Louisiana. The low-risk, outpatient surgery, which includes surgeon fees, hospital fees, anesthesiologist and 1 year of follow-up care with fills is $12,900.

It does not cover the pre-surgery blood work, the psych evaluation (approx. $50), the initial visit fee of $125 or any necessary sleep studies, etc.

Thankfully, I didn't require any pre-surgery sleep study or other tests. Plus, my regular insurance paid for the blood work. The only fees beyond the actual surgery that I paid for out of pocket were the initial visit and psych evaluation, which totaled $175.

Check out their web site at www.whyweight.com.

I used Dr. Barker in Dallas and I LOVE HIM!!! I went to him originally b/c he was the cheapest but I ended up using him b/c he is so caring. He has called me from his home to answer questions for me, offered to give me his cell #, sqeezed me in for an appointment, etc. He does the surgery at 5 different places, and I picked the cheapest which was Vista Surgery Hospital in Garland. The total cost for everything was $12,600. Fills are 100 each but my insurance covers them (I don't get that....) so I just have to pay 30 for a fill. Vista was great and the staff was fantastic and so attentive! Anyways, self pay sucks but Dr. Barker was the cheapest I found in the Dallas area. Also, if you do have insurance, remember that when getting fills b/c they can bill your fill as an x-ray so your insurance will pay it. Send me a private message if you ever want to talk about anything in more detail. Good luck!

Thanks everyone for the detailed help! I need ALLL the input I can get for sure!:Bunny

I used Dr. Jayaseelan in Dallas, and although my insurance did cover the cost, I believe from looking over his paperwork that he is more expensive for self pay than some of the others I saw mentioned here. I was very pleased with him. His web site is www.texaslapband.com. I had my proceedure done at The Surgery Center of Richardson, and they worked with me on the cost to match what my insurance was willing to pay. I was EXTREMELY pleased by the caring and attentive customer service I got from them. They have a web page as well, if you will do a google search. I told my husband that many people seem to go to Mexico, and his comment was that doctors there are protected from malpractice suits. I'm not sure if he is right, and I know the chances of something going wrong are very slim, but that might be something to take into consideration. Also, for what it is worth, I am three days post-op and there is NO WAY I would feel like traveling from Mexico to Texas today!! I wish you best of luck. I can't imagine how hard the self pay is, and I pray you find a viable solution.

PS - Just remembered I've heard great things about Dr. Venenga in Carrollton too.

Dr. Jayseelan...voted TOP DOCTOR in DMagazine. 15,000 includes everything, including a years worth of fills.

Not to start a controversy - I have heard WONDERFUL things about Dr. Jaysalleen, but D Magazine is not really a good basis for rating someone. At least in the Legal community, people pay for and solicit those D magazine polls.