Financial Question for Experienced Self-Pay Banders

My daughter is considering band surgery.  She will have to be self-pay and I was wondering if any of you (recent banders) would be willing to share your cost?  If she is going to have to pay out of pocket, she would be free to go wherever she needs to have the surgery from a good doctor with a good price.  Also how much are the fills for self-pay patients?

I was financed through E-finance Solutions. I am heading to a doctor in Mexico (maybe this wasn't what you were looking for, but I'll tell you anyway). $6000.00 for everything including pre-op and post op testing, EKG, chest x-ray, hospital fees, etc. Everything except airfare. My fills will be done by a surgeon here in the states whom I have already met with and he has been more than empathetic about my situation. I will pay $75.00 for fills. I really lucked out.

Costs are all over the board and there is no set U.S. price. If fills are done in the office, they can cost up to $200. Mine are done under fluoroscopy in a Radiology Dept so my insurance is billed $300 by the Dr plus the facility charge which in my case is another $900 and my insurance pays 80% of that. I've seen  U.S. surgery costs of $12,000 to $25,000 posted here by others in response to similiar questions and it also depends on whether its done as an outpatient or inpatient and how many days your hospitalized. Most surgeons  give fee discounts to self-pay patients and some negotiate a flat fee for the surgery and post-up care including fills for self pay patients which is a good deal.

Hopefully banders in AZ will give you a better idea of fees and costs. The previous poster had surgery in Mexico. Some U.S. Drs won't accept  patients who had lap band surgery in Mexico; she found one who will. However some Dr's charge you a $1000-2500 fee to accept you as a patient for followup care and fills if they didn't do the surgery. Some banders go to fill centers which do fills but not perform the surgery. My suggestion is go to all the free info seminars of bariatric surgeons in your area. They discuss their fees and also self-pay options at the seminar. Consider how many surgeries they have done, where its performed, complication rates and even talk to patients that had the surgery. You get a feel for which Drs you may be interested in going to for a consult. The more info your daughter gets the better.

Sorry, I meant AR instead of AZ

I would suggest that your daughter finds a surgeon that is close to her home. Fills and other issues are hard to "schedule for" and are best served by being able to get to a local practice.I am sure she can find an excellent practice, who offers at least the first year of after care as part of the surgery cost. There is much financing around if that is necessary, but in my 6 years of experience being banded, the patients that have to pay each time for an after care visit tend not to see the practice as often as they should and it may actually hinder their results.

I had my surgery 11 months ago.
I paid 11,995.00 to my surgeon.

That fee included
pre-op appts with the surgeon
psychological evaluation
appt with nutritionist
surgery center
anesthesiologist
3 months of follow up care

I qualified for an out-patient procedure (due to my BMI being below 50 and my having no co-morbidities).

I also had to have the following tests that were paid by my insurance
Chest Xray
Pre-op blood work

I got my first few fills as part of the 3-month followup included in the plan.

Now, I pay 50.00 for a visit with the surgeon and 50.00 additional if I get a fill (or unfill).

Please, please make sure that your daughter has her follow up care all planned for -- especially if she is going to go outside of her hometown to have her surgery.
MANY doctors will not take on new patients.
OR they charge 'program fees' or extra fees to give fills to patients that they did not band.

Best of luck to her.

$6500 in Mexico for an FACS/ASMBS physician in a fully equipped hospital. It's totally doable as long as after care is arranged before surgery.

A safer and cheaper option with no aftercare, better weight loss, safer long term, and no aftercare is a sleeve. In Mexico that is $8750 and includes 3 nights in the hospital.

Banding can be mighty expensive. A great many lose their bands within a few short years and another great many need a 2nd self pay surgery to fix a mechanical problem with the band.

Bands are really not the way to go if self pay is the issue. It's one of the more expensive surgeries long term.

I was banded on November 16, 2009.  I was self pay.  I paid $15,000.  That amount covered all pre surgery consultations and pre-op diet, and all office visits and fills for two years after surgery.  I was particularly happy about the two years post- op care when I saw what some people are paying for fills.  I have already had four fills and a fifth scheduled for late May.

 It's going to really vary depending on what is available in your area!. Mine was $10,500, but that did not include fills or office visits later, those were $105. Later I switched to a different surgeon and my fills are currently $50, without flouro.
Don't try to go to Mexico and have it done unless you are willing to go back to Mexico every time you need a fill or unfill, most surgeons will not take on a patient who had their surgery done elsewhere.

Mexico isn't a bad option at all, as long as you have your aftercare set up PRIOR to going. As I said, the surgeon doing my fills has agreed to take me on just like one of his own and you would be suprised how many people appreciate your honesty regarding the situation.

On a side note, I also hear that Dr. Kirshenbaum out of Denver, CO is quite good and he charges $9,995.00 for everything and I THINk it may include 1 year of free fills with his practice, but not sure about that.