Bariatric Weightloss Surgery
Bariatric Surgery - What is Lap Band Surgery? Does Insurance Cover Weight Loss Surgery?
Posted Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Loosing weight is no easy task no matter who you are, and in most cases, the ones who say that proper diet and exercise is the only way to loose weight most likely have never been overweight and realized how hard it is for someone who is morbidly obese to exercise routinely.
The good new is that there are a few great bariatric procedures that assuming you qualify will also most likely be covered by your medical insurance. However of these bariatric surgeries, one is filled with some terrible risks and complications, while the other one is a little easier to go with. This second surgery is the Lap-Band procedure and in the procedure itself, rather than stapling your stomach up to create a small pouch and then rerouting your intestinal tract, it simply used a saline-filed silicone band that is not only fully adjustable without the need of future surgeries, but is also removable.
What is Lap band surgery?
The Lap-Band procedure consists of the surgeon making a fairly small incision on your abdomen towards the top of the stomach and then he or she will insert an endoscope into the abdominal cavity. Using the endoscope, the surgeon will wrap the Lap-Band around the top portion of the stomach creating a small little pouch and then fill the band with a saline solution.
Prior to suturing the incision closed, the surgeon will then place the adjustment nozzle near the surface of the skin so that the band can be latter adjusted. The surgeon will then close up the incision with sutures. Later if there is a need to make the Lap-Band tighter or looser, a needle will be inserted just under the skin where the nozzle was left and the tip of the needle will be pushed into the nozzle and either extract some of the saline solution or add more.
Does insurance cover weight loss surgery?
The good news though is that as long as you qualify for the procedure, your insurance company is also required to pay for the procedure. They may give you the run around as well as make you jump through hoop after hoop, but eventually they will finally give in and sign your bill and pay for the procedure. You have just got to be consistent because they want you to give up so they don't have to pay the $15,000 to $30,000 for the weight loss surgery.
People who read this article also read:
