I have scheduled an appointment for a general informational seminar to meet with a surgical group in 2 weeks - Baptist with Dr. Spaw. As of right now it looks like insurance may not work out for me which stinks Has anyone done a self pay with Dr. Spaw for a VSG? If so, could you share how much it was ( I have left a message wi the medical group and haven't heard back plus I would just like some info from folks who have been there, done that.

Also, if not, do you have anyone else that you've done VSG self pay with in this area?

Thanks in advance!

Melissa

Dr Spaw is my surgeon as well, but my insurance is covering it. Lisa is the lady who handles working with the insurance company or self pay. You will love Dr Spaw when you meet him. Very accessible and compassionate. He truly loves his job and takes a lot of pride in his work. Lisa is great too. Helped me out when I was crying cause I couldn't get my PCP to do my insurance paperwork. Overall great staff. Best of luck to you!

Thanks for the info! I have been researching like mad and am also going to the seminar at Centennial so I can meet Dr. Houston. I've heard good things about him too. Centennial's self pay is less than Baptist's too. I am hoping that by meeting various folks someone will help me find a way to get our insurance to cover it. If I have to wait for self pay, well. I may be waiting awhile

My husband and I are both using dr Morton at baptist

Thanks for the info! I have been researching like mad and am also going to the seminar at Centennial so I can meet Dr. Houston. I've heard good things about him too. Centennial's self pay is less than Baptist's too. I am hoping that by meeting various folks someone will help me find a way to get our insurance to cover it. If I have to wait for self pay, well. I may be waiting awhile

I'm in TN as well and awaiting a local seminar. Could you please inform me of the self pay prices for both facilities? Thank you!

I e-mailed the folks at Baptist and they just have me an estimate - about $20K.

Centennial was much more specific - $18,032. I have met with Dr. Houston and have everything scheduled and my surgery date is 12/16. They could have gotten me on much earlier but the date was my choice.

Which seminar are you attending? I would be glad to help you with any more info I can share

I just had my surgery Tuesday with Dr. Houston. He is a man of few words but I was very happy with both him and Centennial. My insurance covered the procedure, but the office is great about telling you exactly what to expect as far as charges. If you are able to scrape the money together, 20% off for Prompt Pay helps.

Prompt Pay doesn't apply to self-pay

Wait, I just realized you said you had surgery Tuesday - how are you doing? Can I assume you are home now? Please share anything about the surgery and recovery you feel comfortable sharing

East tn and was 18,000 self pay. That's the norm for our state.

This week has been up and down. I slept most of the time I was in the hosptial. When I got home, I continued taking my Dilaudid the first day. Now, I am a little sore during the day but I have only been taking my pain medicine at night to help rest more comfortably. I have been able to lay on my sides for a period of time at night. Getting in fluids has been a challenge. My new best friend has been my Unjury Chicken Soup flavor protein. It's nice to have something salty and warm in stead of everything being sweet. I am taking back all my Isopure bottles tomorrow. The stuff is alright when you taste it preop but post op, the after taste is just too much to handle. The Unjury and Nectar powders mix really well and have decent flavor.

I hope things just get better and better from here on out . I've tried a few nectar flavors - all that Vitamin Shoppe had samples for. Not too bad - some really good.

Out of curiosity - how was your hospital stay? Did you get a private room as a self pay?

Out of curiosity - how was your hospital stay? Did you get a private room as a self pay?

My insurance covered the procedure. My hosptial stay was really good. My room was away from the nurses station so there wasn't a lot of noise. I was awakened at 12 and 4 for vitals but they left me alone other than that. All the rooms are private so it doesn't matter if you are insured or self pay.

That is great news. I was hoping for private rooms but didn't know how things were done. I've never had any kind of surgery or even admitted to a hospital so I am kind of clueless with these things. Did Dr. H check on you every day?an

Hope you are doing great and your one week check up goes fab!

The doctor came in every morning to see me. I also got a visit from their office manager as promised pre-op. It's really a good atmosphere. My follow-up is Thursday. Today is the best I have felt so far.

That's so awesome. I love how their office is right across the street from hospital. After meeting Dr. Houston and Holly I knew I didn't want to go anywhere else. Obviously being self pay I wanted to get the best price possible, but I decided I was willing to pay more to #1 stay close to home (they are like 20 minutes from me) and #2 get the best care possible.

Dr. Houston doesn't strike me as the warmest, fuzziest guy around (although we did bond some after discovering we are both Preds fans lol) but he does seem like he is one heck of a surgeon. And I can't say enough good about Holly. Plus, I do like the aftercare part of things. I was considering saving about $6K and going to Dallas to have the sleeve done but the idea of just calling in to report how things are going didn't cut it. Plus, if God forbid, something goes wrong, I want my surgeon right here.

Centennial really does seem to have a great aftercare program. I believe that they are concerned about the long term care of their patients and not just about getting their money and they're done with you. I think Dr. Houston probably has one of those personalities that are easily misunderstood at times. You know from listening to him that he's intelligent. As a nurse, I knew right away that he was the dr that I wanted. One girl said that he changed after surgery; she thought that maybe he saw so many consults that never followed through that he didn't get too involved up front. My pre-op consult was interesting. I had to bring all three of my kids (7,4,4) to the appt. He was running late. They had been good the hour we had been there but were getting restless toward the end. He apologized for being behind and said he didn't know I had kids waiting with me. Then he proceeded to say that it was my fault for bringing them in the first place. Now, I THINK that was supposed to be a joke......I hope it was.