For those of us who are UK based and self funding our gastric bands, cost is a HUGE consideration. The adverts for travelling to Europe for cheaper surgery can sometimes almost seem an ideal option but what about 'unexpected costs'?

With all surgery comes the concerns of potential problems and for me, that was the one of my major deciding factors. A recent reduction in UK banding surgery was enough to keep me here. A finance tip is given at the bottom of this write up:)

The comparisons-

TRAVEL TO EUROPE FOR BANDING

If you want your initial consultation in the UK there is a charge of £100 or more-plus travel costs. Quite often the surgeon will say it is fine to have the consultation on the night before your surgery when you are in Europe (a long way to travel and possibly find out that for whatever reason, you are not suitable for surgery).

You will need to factor the cost of travel for you and a friend to the country and the taxis to and from your accomodation. You will need 2 nights stay at a hotel- sometimes this is in with the cost of surgery but not always.

The cost of surgery can be from £4,000

Once back in the UK you have to pay for your consultation/band fills- each one is around £150. As a guide I have been told it is normal to have 6-8 adjustments over 2 years

The doctors insist on a yearly xray or scan- cost unknown.

Travel to the follow up appointments quite often mean a trip to London which can take a number of hours each way for some of us and therefore significant fuel cost.

UK BANDING

Initial consultation can be free (mine was) or up to £150

Cost of surgery is from £5,000 (Feb/March 2012offer at The Hospital Group-£1,000 off normal starting price) which INCLUDES an overnight stay following surgery, blood tests/band fills/adjustments etc for 2YEARS.

Hospitals throughout the UK so you can be seen local therefore shorter commute time and fuel costs.

Knowing I will have no further outlay for the next 24months by having my surgery in the UK gives me peace of mind as I am the sort of person who thinks if something can go wrong, it's likely to happen to me.

I hope this helps some people when considering where to have the surgery but continue to do your research until you are satisfied with your descision. You can always go for a consutation with a UK surgeon which is often FREE and you are under no obligation to proceed with them so could still go further afield for surgery.

Finance Tip.

With limited savings and being someone who hates to pay interest, I searched the internet for credit card offers.

The best deal for me was to open a Nationwide current account which gave me a nice interest free overdraft for 3 months but also enabled me to have a Nationwide credit card with a significant amount of credit and, get this, it's 18 MONTHS INTEREST FREE.

There was an offer where you just had the credit card without having to have a current account but the interest free period was only 6 months. I found a number of other good credit card deals including Sainsburys and Tesco but the Nationwide one was best for me. There are new deals all the time so get surfing the Net!

If you've found this page useful, please drop me a line to say 'Hi'.

Thanks for this Chris

It reassures me further that I've made the right decision to stay in the UK not only because all of our health concerns are investigated in advance of surgery, but it also takes the further stress out of surgery and travel for fills/checks ups etc.

Needed this the past few days xx

Hi Saz, I'm glad you've found it useful.Since I had my meet with the consultant I have had a little breather, some 'me' space.

Travelling to the hospital and seeing the team and talking to them about the date (or should I say 'our day' lol) of surgery was somehow a massive step forward even though I had already paid the deposit, booked the op and talked about it none stop weeks.

Yesterday I was a little quiet but I think it was because Friday was so important and I had a bit of a tension headache leading up to my appointment. I couldn't see a reason I might have been rejected for surgery but the worry was still there.I just need to get the next 11days over and start the pre op diet! 25days to go xx

Oh definitely... breathing space is much needed otherwise you'll become obsessed with the band. I took my family to the zoo yesterday so there's my exercise Hope you enjoyed your shopping!

I guess stress is inevitable with the lead up to surgery. You didn't want anything or anyone getting in the way on Friday, and now you have the right decision from the surgeon so you can take a break and just wait for the pre-op diet

Enjoy your meal tomorrow!