I'm thinking of getting 'banded'. I read some posts regarding costs but they are from 2003. Can anyone give me what they paid (total costs), here in the US this year for their procedure? I live in Arizona.

Thanks!

I live in Phoenix, AZ and the prices range from $13,500 (lowest) to $19,500 (highest) in this area. I am self-pay and cannot afford it so I am having my surgery in Aurora, Colorado by Dr. Kirshenbaum for $9950. It is the best deal I have found in the U.S. If you are willing to go to Mexico, there are some very qualified doctors that will do it for less than $8000, just be sure to thoroughly check them out. Good luck in your search.

In my area of North Carolina it's around $20K. The lowest price I found in NC was around $14,500. I went Dr. Kirshenbaum in Denver, CO for $9950.

I paid $10,850. My surgeon, it looks like, just lowered his price to $9,900: Colorado Bariatric Surgery Institute - Morbid Obesity,

I'm in Houston. Mine was done in May of 2007 and I paid a total of $12,900.

I was banded in Phoenix by Dr. Nirmul at True Results. Self Pay $14,500.00. They do offer financing. It is all a 'good thing!'. Good luck.

It ranges but AZ is not the cheapest, Denver is. If you need to stay in the US I'd check out Dr. Kirshenbaum. I haven't heard anything negative about him. He now has the experience in banding and it's a pretty good option.

It's $9950 then travel, hotel, etc. I think Mona was looking at $12K total.

It would actually be closer for you to go to Mexico. And cheaper. But if you are looking at US then Denver would be my vote.

I went with Dr. Kirshenbaum too in Aurora Colorado. It was $9950 for everything. Denver is a huge airport so it is usually pretty affordable to fly out there. There is also an airport in Colorado Springs that some carriers fly too even cheaper. But I went out a few days early to see the sights. It is a really lovely place around Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, and Pikes Peak. There is so much to do and see in that immediate area. If you're going to fly to Denver anyway, you might as well look around. My sister and I had a super time (until the surgery of course). I upgraded our seats to first class (cost only $150 more per seat) on US Airways on the way back home so I would have some extra room.

I was self-pay in Alabama, and it was $15,000. That did not include the psych evaluation or the pre-op testing ($150 & Co-pay respectively). Also, anesthesia (they have hosed me all along) billed me an additional $500 for 'whatever' reason.

In Georgia the cost runs $17,400, but this is an all inclusive price. All fills are free for life. Those can run anywhere from $150 to $250, each time. Also, if I have to go back in for a repair, it covers that. For that price he also repaired 3 hernias that I had. Sometimes cheap isn't always the best when you calculate all the extra fills, etc over a 5 year period or more. The other problem when you have to fly somewhere to have it done, you can have trouble finding a local doctor to do a fill. Most doctors won't perform fills on people they haven't operated on and it would be quite expensive to fly back everytime you need a fill.

Good luck and be sure to look at the whole picture, not just the bottom price.

If you are thinking of having a particular clinic or hospital do your surgery, just call them up and ask them how much it is. I did that with the Scottsdale Bariatric Clinic, and when they told me $19000 (this was last year) I decided I was going to Mexico.