I need to know what happens if you self pay for your lap band but then you have unexpected complications occur i.e. a heart attack, a stroke, band slippage, erosion, etc. that you did not budget for............ Couldn't these possibly leave you and your family bankrupt if you had to pay for these out of pocket?

Please advise.

Absolutely. I am a self payor. My health insurance company does not cover weight loss surgeries or any complications that may arise from such surgery.

I made the decision to have surgery knowing that in the long run, the surgery will improve my quality of life and health.

I need to know what happens if you self pay for your lap band but then you have unexpected complications occur i.e. a heart attack, a stroke, band slippage, erosion, etc. that you did not budget for............ Couldn't these possibly leave you and your family bankrupt if you had to pay for these out of pocket?

Please advise.

Hang on: Heart attack and stroke are not complications of banding surgery. If you have insurance in the US these conditions would be covered no matter what your prior medical history is.

Band-related issues may be excluded if your policy didn't cover the initial surgery, but any emergency situation should be. That is, if your band slips and you are in an emergent situation (such as you can't drink), your insurance should cover the surgery to remove the band. But in general, you're right--self-paying is potentially very risky, since you will be out of pocket for everything related to your band for many years.

I need to know what happens if you self pay for your lap band but then you have unexpected complications occur i.e. a heart attack, a stroke, band slippage, erosion, etc. that you did not budget for............ Couldn't these possibly leave you and your family bankrupt if you had to pay for these out of pocket?

Please advise.

Yep, it was a concern, DH and I both self-payed. As has been pointed out, some things like a heart attack or stroke would probably be covered.

My surgeon has a thing where he will waive his fees, and his clinics fees, for self-payors for any band-related problems. That helped me feel better.