After wading through insurance crud, I looked into self-paying and doing it thru Blossom Bariatric's Fast Track program in Las Vegas. My cost would be $6300 all-inclusive, including hotel and transport between hotel and facility for the five days.

The selling points include convenience as opposed to the options available with my insurance (closest hospital covered by insurance is a 6-hr drive vs. a 90-min flight to LV), no worries about losing weight before the procedure and getting declined (I'm borderline 40BMI), and no 3- or 6-month waiting period.

I have three concerns:

1) Post-surgery followup and care.

2) The "safe sleeve" procedure they do... I can find very little information about it.

3) Not being able to meet the surgeon prior to committing to surgery at the facility.

So... has anybody out there had the "safe sleeve" procedure through Blossom Bariatrics in Las Vegas?

I had a friend who went in december...she's done great!

I went in August 2020. I have nothing but good things to say about there process.

I was a Blossom patient, June 15th. Best thing I ever did. You hear in the posts "wish I did it sooner" and I do!! Blossom and everyone there are SPECTACULAR. No one is crabby or rude and treat you like a celebrity. Also amazing is how many have it VSG done there themselves, so they share their stories and make you feel SO at ease. My insurance would not cover it and I started googling VSG without insurance and they pop up. I also saw lots in Mexico but felt more at ease being in the US. I did the online information form ONE YEAR ago! You can get in rather quickly, but I knew I needed to go once school was out and picked June. Hope that helps! DO IT! ?

I had the surgery at Blossom on 5/5/2021! I can’t say enough good things about the docs and the surgery ! I had NO pain .. NO nausea and NO complications . Very professional group of physicians and staff . Very compassionate , very supportive. I would highly recommend this group to anyone . The only regret I have about the surgery ... is not doing it sooner .

I DID! ?

I was 6/15/21. I was very impressed with everything there. I was a fast track patient from out of state. I stayed in the hotel provided and had driver services as well. Everyone at Blossom treats you like a star. I too wish I did this years and years ago. But, the point is we DID it, finally.

On 3/13/2019 at 6:47 AM, Niabird said:

I had mine on 2/21. I did push out my departure by a day and left Sunday instead of Saturday. All of us that were there had successful procedures, one lady was admitted to hospital for inpatient surgery after her endoscopy revealed it would need to be an open, not laparoscopic procedure, so they are prepared with hospital care if needed. I also had a hiatal hernia repair so I had a little sub sternal pain (also, I’m allergic to Toradol so I had slightly less pain meds than everyone else but it was manageable)
Drs and nurses were great. The pre op testing is super thorough. I liked the hotel and the transportation as a nice touch. Not having to rent a car reduced the stress and there is a Walmart a walkable distance from the hotel to grab supplies if needed. We ubered to the strip once or twice to check things out before surgery and it was affordable. Good luck !!

one year later any regrets about Blossom?

Can anyone share their timeline with Blossom Bariatrics?

This morning they quoted me $16,499 for self pay, which is waaaaaayyyy outside my spend range. I'm disappointed to say the least.

On 11/04/2022 at 12:37, seebee said:

This morning they quoted me $16,499 for self pay, which is waaaaaayyyy outside my spend range. I'm disappointed to say the least.

Darn! I’m sorry. I assume it would be the same for me. Do you know why you didn’t qualify for their lower price? Insurance reasons?
What are you thinking next? I found Heartland Weightloss in MO yesterday for $9999 but I can’t find much info about them online. Would you consider Mexico?

Anyone around that would mind sharing their experience with Blossom? I'm scheduled with them later this month, and was wondering if anyone has had an experience with them since this discussion dropped off last year?

Hi! I went to Blossom June15, 2021. I am down 125 pounds. Loved every minute of my experience with them. I traveled from Illinois on the private pay fast track program. I know I have commented at other times on my experience. I felt like it was more like a spa than an elective surgery. So many employees there have had the surgery and share their experiences with you along the way. I prepared for the worst pain wise and I think that is why I did so well. When I was preparing, I watched every video they had on youTube. Remember, the hardest part is deciding to make the call. Keep fighting for yourself and you health. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about my decision and my progress. I worked too hard to get where I am now. It's been a long time since I have been on this page. I'm going to update my info!! Keep us posted how you do!

Thanks for the feedback and welcome back! It looks like I'll be going the self pay fast track route too. I have decent pain tolerance, but not hunger tolerance haha. The pre-op diet hasn't been fun so far, but its manageable. I definitely needed to do something before my health problems got any more disruptive.

I have to say, so far the communication with Blossom has been great. They've been more forthcoming with things than other clinics I talked too before deciding on them. Others seemed kind of shady around their success/failure rates, but they've been upfront with me on all of that. The billing/pricing is the only area that there was some ambiguity at first, but I went back to them expressing my concerns and they cleared things up. I imagine my experience is different from others due to my procedure being self pay, versus all the nonsense involved with the insurance industry as a whole.

I'd also like to hear feedback about after the surgery. I think I'm overthinking and researching things, so any info is much appreciated!

Mine was 100% private pay. My insurance would not cover it all. totally an exclusion. Blossom is available after surgery but only if you need them and reach out. I never really reached out or had any complications. I follow them on social media and read lots of people having questions, etc. I have to say, I think he follow-up could be better. My GP was very hesitant to just "take over" when I got back. Doctors don't want to be responsible for someone else's surgery. Makes sense. I also knew it would be discouraged from going out of state so I never disclosed or told GP office what I was doing. My point is when she would ask me questions about aftercare I would be like "uh I don't know" she would ask what about follow-up? I was like hmm, I guess there really isn't any. No binder, no regular calls or direct contact. Luckily, I didn't need it though. My GP said my case made her more interested in it and learn about the follow up and tests needed, etc. Also makes sense, if insurance covered it, I would likely have a bariatric team and all my tests and follow up would be with them.

The actual recovery was really good and seamless for me. I followed all the directions in Vegas. I was prepared for the worse. I walked and woke up every few hours with my daughter's help. I never had to horrible gas pain people talk about. Plane ride was super awkward with the fancy leg pumps. ?? Once home, FLUIDS! Alex explained, you can live 10 days without food but not water/fluids. I was tired the first week. I just listened to my body. I moved around as much as possible, but didn't push myself either.

I will be blunt about MY ONLY complication. CONSTIPATION is real! And it's awful! Never had this in my life. Quite the opposite. So my advice, always keep track so it does not get away from you. Use the stool softeners and fiber. After two years, I still have moments but I have a good routine to treat it. On the other hand, I have read people have the opposite, so listen to your body!

I'm so excited for you and can't wait to hear how you do. What is your date again?

On 11/6/2023 at 2:19 PM, SomeBigGuy said:

Anyone around that would mind sharing their experience with Blossom? I'm scheduled with them later this month, and was wondering if anyone has had an experience with them since this discussion dropped off last year?

@SomeBigGuy, I personally didn't go through Blossom, but there's a fantastic YouTuber named LoseWeightSara who did, and she has a ton of videos documenting her journey, including a few of her hotel & hospital stay. I highly recommend checking her out - she's a delight!

On 11/8/2023 at 9:27 PM, Drinkwine28 said:

Mine was 100% private pay. My insurance would not cover it all. totally an exclusion. Blossom is available after surgery but only if you need them and reach out. I never really reached out or had any complications. I follow them on social media and read lots of people having questions, etc. I have to say, I think he follow-up could be better. My GP was very hesitant to just "take over" when I got back. Doctors don't want to be responsible for someone else's surgery. Makes sense. I also knew it would be discouraged from going out of state so I never disclosed or told GP office what I was doing. My point is when she would ask me questions about aftercare I would be like "uh I don't know" she would ask what about follow-up? I was like hmm, I guess there really isn't any. No binder, no regular calls or direct contact. Luckily, I didn't need it though. My GP said my case made her more interested in it and learn about the follow up and tests needed, etc. Also makes sense, if insurance covered it, I would likely have a bariatric team and all my tests and follow up would be with them.

The actual recovery was really good and seamless for me. I followed all the directions in Vegas. I was prepared for the worse. I walked and woke up every few hours with my daughter's help. I never had to horrible gas pain people talk about. Plane ride was super awkward with the fancy leg pumps. ?? Once home, FLUIDS! Alex explained, you can live 10 days without food but not water/fluids. I was tired the first week. I just listened to my body. I moved around as much as possible, but didn't push myself either.

I will be blunt about MY ONLY complication. Constipation is real! And it's awful! Never had this in my life. Quite the opposite. So my advice, always keep track so it does not get away from you. Use the stool softeners and Fiber. After two years, I still have moments but I have a good routine to treat it. On the other hand, I have read people have the opposite, so listen to your body!

I'm so excited for you and can't wait to hear how you do. What is your date again?

Sorry I missed your post. Thanks for all the info, it's really helpful.

I'm flying out on Saturday and my surgery is on Monday. Excited and nervous at the same time, but I definitely feel that its the best thing for me to do at this point.