My insurance has a rider stating that it will not cover any type of obesity/bariatric surgery. It is BCBS Procter & Gamble. So, my hubby said he would give me 8,500 for the surgery and not a penny more.

I checked into Denver, CO but the surgery is 9,950 and that does not include hotels, prescrips while there, transportation from airport to hospital etc.

I talked to a doctor in MX, but I can't remember which ONE for the life of me. He had packages starting at 7000 and going up depending on the hospital you chose for the surgery. Hotel was included, as well as transportation to and from airport. And yes, it is the INAMED band. Anyone know who this could be?? Please help, I'm desperate to get my life back, and I've already tried everything! I've GOT TO HAVE THIS BAND!!!

Thanks

Donna:help:

Hi Donna,

WOW, Why is your husband limiting you on the funds? Most band surgeries are in the 15K range.. does he expect you to come up with the rest? I am having my surgery done in Denver. I was toooo chicken to even consider Mexico. I wanted some one statside if I started having problems was the biggest reason I chose to have it done in Denver. I feeling has always been "you get what you pay for" so, if you pick a cheaper hospital in Mexico is is dirty or older?? I think I would reconsider that option. The other reason that the Dr. is much lower in Denver is he told me there is a lot of competion in his area. Price really matters there. Check out the Denver doctor thread in "Dctors and Hopitals". You get lots of good information! Good luck with your decision!

I was lucky that he even considered agreeing to the surgery! He FINALLY agreed to it and then we found that insurance wouldn't cover it. We just don't have 15,500 laying around. That is what my doctor in Iowa charges for self pay. That is why he is limiting it to 8500, and as far as me coming up with the rest, I'm a stay at home mom, so I don't know how that would work. LOL I've heard good things about MX though. I've talked to several people who have chosen Dr. Ortiz in MX, and were really happy. Dr. Aceves cost is 8200, and I hear he is an excellent Dr as well.

Add airfare and it's a wash. Does the Denver guy include fills in the price? My guy does a year of free fills, and then another year if you loose 50% of your excess weight during your first year.

Check out Dr. Cantu at Bariatricleaders.com, I just had a fill from them in Reynosa, Mexico (very near McAllen, Tx), wonderful, compassionate. Clinic was state of the art. a very good experience. Lucy

7500.00 which includes everything except airfare, forgot to include that

Lucy

email me privately if you want

Ortiz is a very secure choice. He is completely reliable, competent and experienced. I would go to Ortiz, even if money were not an issue!

The answer to your question has to come from you. How do you feel about going to surgery for Mexico? Do you have a surgeon in the states who will do your fills? Do you have any medical issues besides obesity? I have a heart condition and had bilateral pulmonary emboli (blood clots in the lungs) so there was no decision for me to make. I HAD to have surgery in the states because it was the best choice for me given my circumstances.

Do a lot of research before you opt for one place or another and consider all the options. I was denied twice by my insurance but appealed and won. You might also consider getting your own insurance for a year that does cover the procedure. As you can see, there is A LOT to consider.

I was banded by the doc in question in Denver... so that is my vote. He has been wonderful to me and totally took care of my when I had a complication.

His price includes fills for 3 months and then after 3 months fills are only 15 bucks.

I think once you add in airfare getting to Mexico for surgery and fills it becomes a wash financially.

PM me if I can answer any questions about Dr K!

I don't want to turn this into a Mexico vs US debate but from what I have read here on LBT choose your MX doc very carefully. Some have had great luck going south of the border others not so much.

Good luck to you! :biggrin1:

I am going with Dr. Ortiz. I have never heard anything bad about him. His cost is exactly $8500. In fact I hear that his center is better than anything in the US.

Stacy

Donna: I've been posting here for quite a while and most of the stories I've read about Dr. Ortiz have been very good. Haven't read anything about Dr. Aceves.

The one thing I have learned is that before you schedule with a Mexican doctor, you need to be absolutely certain that you have a local doctor who can do the fills and any follow-up that you might need.

I chose a doctor primarily based on his laproscopic surgical experience and someone who had plenty of Lap Band procedures under his belt.

My surgery was supposed to be $18,000 out of pocket expense. However, it covered the surgery, hospital and all that (overnight), plus pre-surgical tests and all fills for 2 years, plus a dietician and exercise physiologist for 2 years, and a clinical psychologist profile and monthly psychologist's group lectures, and monthly dietician group meetings, a newsletter and all the phone calls and doctor's visits that I need for 2 years. It's a comprehensive package and I wouldn't have wanted to do this without it.

I knew I had a hiatal hernia, but wasn't sure if I needed gallbladder surgery. The pre-surgical tests bore out the hernia, but ruled out the gallbladder removal necessity.

Because I needed the hiatal hernia operation, my insurance, which also had a strong non-bariatric surgery clause, covered part of everything. They wound up paying us back almost $10,000. So that would make it close to what you're husband is willing to cough up. Pardon the expression.

Some of the doctors in this area resent people going to Mexico for the initial procedure and they charge $1000 per fill. They don't offer much in the way of other surpport either to people who choose to go to Mexico.

I've had 5 or 6 fills since my surgery in September. My doctor insists that we take this slowly and to never cause me the discomfort and possible anguish of an over-fill. When you are paying out of pocket each time for a fill, the conventional wisdom is to get as much as you think you can possibly need so that you don't have to go back soon (and pay again).

Some doctors insist on doing floroscopy (like x-rays) during the fill to make sure you are properly adjusted because they are trying to cut down on the over-fill scenario. That machine's usage costs money, although I am not sure if these are the same doctors who charge $1000 per fill and the floroscope is how they justify it.

Bottom line of what I'm saying is that you need to be absolutely certain that you have a local doctor who is amenable to doing your follow up care and your fills. And you need to know just exactly what that will cost you. If you have the band and have to go without the proper adjustment, you may as well not have the band.

I've typed this quickly because I'm expecting company in a few minutes so I hope it makes sense.

Your best feedback about the Mexican connection is from someone who's been there, done that. But I did want to share my personal experience with the outcome of my insurance company's willingness to pay for the hiatal hernia part of the surgery and how it put me in a position to get everything done locally, which is really great.

Please keep us posted. I'll sure be thinking about you.

I just got back from Mexico and Dr. Ortiz. I swear, it's like a private clinic I'm sure the "rich folk" use when they get their plastic surgery Very clean, very efficient, each room is private with a loveseat, a few chairs, a nice waterfall type fixture, flat screen TV with satellite, etc. There were 4 of us but it looks like they can do up to 5. There were 2 nurses there the whole time (24 hours) so everything was instantaneous.

They were running a special and my total, not including airfare and anything I bought at the hotel, was $8K.

Everyone thought I was nuts for going "to a 3rd world country", lol, but Dr. Ortiz has written a book about Lapband surgery and trained many US doctors. When he wrote the book he had performed 4000. I'm sure it's more than that now.

I'm headed back there for my first fill. Due to time/money restraints, I might not go back if I need more, but after seeing how they run things there, I feel I'll get a "better" one there than in the US!

BTW, I had a hiatal hernia too - which I didn't know about. Dr. Ortiz fixed it and didn't charge another penny :mad:

Oh, and they will give you phone numbers for doctors in your area who fill patients with "Mexican bands". Also here: http://www.fillcentersusa.com/program.html

Sparkette,

Tell you what I did.

I got the idea from my PCP.

I called several reputable Mexico Dr's and explained that I only had $7500.00 to spend and that my PCP had said if I didn't do something, I would be dead in 2 yrs.

:clap2: I got a return call from one of the Dr's.

:mad: I have to pay my own airfare but I got it from Spokane to San Diego for $150.00 RT on Priceline. which is normally closer to $400.00. I will stay a extra day for a hotel price of $45.00 per night which was normally $100.00+ per night.

Best of luck

They were running a special and my total, not including airfare and anything I bought at the hotel, was $8K.

Hi FurEllie,

I am in the process of getting the money from my 401k for surgery with Dr. Ortiz. I will only have about $7500 or so after taxes and will have to beg, borrow, or save up the rest for the $8500. But when you said there was a special so recent as last week for $500 less, I was really even more excited! I'm hoping it wasn't a typo...lol If not, then how long is the special for?

Congrats on your surgery and I am hoping my journey starts real soon.

Peace,

Judy

I hate to admit that I know nothing about the special except that I got it

Try the contact form on their site:

http://obesitycontrolcenter.com/index.html

They are REALLY good about getting back to you quickly. If you've already had contact with someone, hit them up. Seriously they are the most helpful people around :mad:

If I didn't have insurance I would either go to Denver OR Mexico.... but thank the lord my insurance approved it....

One thing I will add is that my doc said almost EVERY patient that he bands HAS a hernia, and if it is too big he will fix it, because it only adds 3 minutes to the surgery..... I would maybe investigate the fact that you could have a hernia and have your insurance pay for that instead and get the band placed as a bonus.

My doc also does fills on Mexican banded patients.....