skin removal surgery cost?

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This sounds harsh and maybe it is but the saddest part to me is that anyone allows their body to get so overweight and stretched that you need to have pounds of skin removed. Maybe put pictures on chip and soda cans of naked people with saggy skin like they do pictures on cigarette packages. I can understand insurance not paying for something you intentionally did to yourself.

Really harsh, glad you are not a buddy of mine!

WOW!!! What a charmer you are!!!!

It's not a matter of someone else paying for it, it's a matter of getting HELP paying for it. Most insurance companies will pay at least a PART of a sex change if the person goes thru and a psych doctor determines it's causing them mental anguish. Insurance will pay for those who smoked or drank for YEARS and need transplants of some sort, yet they won't pay for skin removal to help someone who worked their *kitten* off to lose the weight.

I work with insurance companies and have to deal with getting things covered. If you can show that the excess skin is causing medical problem such as infections, ulcers etc. then yes the insurance will cover to have it removed. I had my eye lids lifted because of a medical condition that caused them to droop and the excess skin was interfering with my vision. I no longer look like I had a stroke. But until the skin got to the point where it was causing a decreased vision I couldn't get it done.

I have seen people get turned down for skin removal surgery while others get approved. It depends on the reason for the removal as well as how the claim is processed with the insurance. Discuss it with your doctor. Tell your doctor about any rash you may be getting in that area, is it getting in the way of doing daily tasks, is there an odor coming from the skin... all of this needs to be documented and can help you get approval from your insurance. You can't just walk in and say I want this removed because it looks horrible and get it approved. There has to be a medical reason/need to have it removed besides your vanity.

Hope this helps you get it approved.

This is what I'm going with.

I think the surgery is worth it, if it makes you feel better. There must be a way to finance it, right? Gosh that's less money than my car costs...

I know earlier some individuals were saying you could go to a burn center and donate the skin, but this is unfortunately an urban legend. This is from the Shriner's website:

Q: Can skin from gastric bypass surgery be donated to children for skin grafts?

A: No, the only donor skin that can be used at the burn center is cadaver skin processed through a skin bank. Only skin from cadavers is used for skin grafts, because cadavers give the greatest amount of surface area – up to 10 sq. feet of usable skin for a burn patient. Skin that could be taken from a person who had excessive weight loss would not generate the amount of skin or quality skin needed to treat burn patients.

Edited to add: From Traumaburn.org (University of Michigan Burn Center site)

Question: I recently lost a great deal of weight and I have a lots of excess skin. Can I donate my excess skin to a skin bank to help burn patients? Will a tissue bank pay for my skin reduction surgery if I agree to donate my tissue?

Answer: These questions are asked quite often by individuals who have lost large amounts of weight and have excess skin folds. We appreciate your desire to donate, however, this kind of donation is unworkable. Allow me to explain why:

Our center does not obtain skin from these patients for several reasons. First, this method of obtaining skin is cost prohibitive. The amount of transplantable tissue obtained from tissue reduction surgery is minimal when compared to the amount of tissue obtained from a cadaveric (deceased) tissue donor. The procurement costs would be much greater as it would require the services of doctors, nurses, anesthetists, and other health care professionals as well as the use of an operating room and other hospital services. Cadaveric donation requires only trained tissue recovery technicians, and they can procure tissue after the body has been sent to the morgue (rather than in an operating room), thus keeping expenses to a minimum.

Additionally, cadaveric donated tissue can be used for transplant soon after recovery (as soon as quality assurance testing is complete), however, the FDA requires that tissues recovered from living donors must be placed into quarantine for six months. At the end of six months, all serologic testing (HIV and Hepatitis) of the donor must be repeated before that tissue can be used.

It is extremely difficult to obtain a skin graft from tissue than has been removed during tissue reduction surgery. The usual procedure for tissue reduction surgery involves the removal of skin and underlying attached tissues, often several centimeters. Skin grafts used for transplant (burn patients) are only 15/1000 (0.015) of an inch thick and do not include these underlying tissues. Skin grafts for transplant are obtained by the use of a surgical device called a dermatome, which peels off a very thin (0.015 inch) uniform layer of skin.

I do not know of any tissue bank that would pay for a donor's tissue reduction surgical expenses for the purpose of obtaining skin for transplantation. If you are interested in donating your tissues upon your death I would encourage you to share this information with your family. Your gift can save lives and greatly reduce suffering.

I lost, in total, about 180 pounds. I lost it slow and steady, but still had a little belly skin and skin left from what was my moobs. In April of this year I had the surgery - a full abdomnioplasty (tummy tuck to fix the stuff even situps won't fix) and a lateral chest tightening (removing the skin from my chest). Out the door, it totaled $10,500 from a very reputable doctor. This included all the prep office visits, all the recovery office visits, the surgery, the anesthesiologist, the fees due the surgical center, and two abdominal binders to wear during recovery. There were 2 up front visits and 6 post-op visits that were all covered.

The $10k did not include any pre-operation vitamins (there was a package from VitaMedica that my doctor recommended, that was $100+) or the scar reduction creme (another $100+).

If you do opt for the surgery, I recommend the vitamin pack, it seemed like it helped with the recovery. I'm not sure the high end cream did anything, or at least did anything more than Mederma or something similar would have done at half the cost.

$10,000. Wow

I got my Breast Augmentation through a great company in Thailand who Also does Tummy Tucks/skin removal, I think its around 5 000
Before Anyone goes on about horror stories, The hospital and company I went through, my surgeon, nurses, and TT results I have seen have been top notch.

Hi - just wondering how you went about finding a suitable company? Would you be happy to tell me their name? Thanks

I had a full tummy tuck done in January and it was $5600. It was definitely worth the money!

I think that for those who lose a lot of weight and keep it off should get it for FREE!!!!!!
That's just my opinion
Great job on your loss Sorry I'm not helpful

Hahaha YES ^

I got my Breast Augmentation through a great company in Thailand who Also does Tummy Tucks/skin removal, I think its around 5 000
Before Anyone goes on about horror stories, The hospital and company I went through, my surgeon, nurses, and TT results I have seen have been top notch.

Hi - just wondering how you went about finding a suitable company? Would you be happy to tell me their name? Thanks

Don't dare do that!! It's way too risky! And for what you'd pay to fly to Thailand, you could have surgery done in USA where we have strict guidelines for safety.

I could do with surgery after losing over 200 pounds. I think I have less skin than I thought I was going to have. The onnly bit that bothers me is my chest and my belly, The skin is tight round my back and sides.

In the UK, some NHS authorities do not do the surgery because it is cosmetic and some will do it but not even soon as possible even for medical reasons. There was a person in the news that suffers sores and infections all the time and has been told to maintain his weight for 3 years before the NHS does it. I understand needs to show the NHS some commitment to keep the weight off but 3 years is too long. They don't seem to factor in how much the NHS will be paying out to deal with these infections and sores in the mean time.

Stomach surgery is around £5000-6000 and chest gynaecomastia surgery is £4000-£5000. That is around $15,000, I will never be able to afford it.

The reason they do that is because skin can take two to three years before it has shrunk back the maximum amount it is going to. I would not even consider it before the two year mark:)
Hope this helps:)

I was quoted 15k for the tummy tuck and I just...I can't do it.
That's a down payment on a house.
My mother also had one and she said the pain was worse than childbirth for about a week.

So I'm just trying to learn to love myself.
I have been told if I loose this last 40 pounds and keep it off for two years insurance will cover it, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm scared or that I live alone. ><

The UK NHS only pays for plastic surgery if you say not having big boobs prevents you from realizing your dream of becoming a model even if your face is a train wreck.

Medical insurance should never cover anything that is not medically necessary. The fact that so many non-medically necessary medications and procedures are now mandated has only only driven up costs for everyone.

A lot of people live with various degrees of dissatisfaction with their appearance. In the free market one can shop around and choose options which suit their needs and budget or adapt to the hand your are dealt.

If someone wants to start a charity that earmarks those who have lost a lot of weight, great. But this is not something that we should all be forced to pay for through higher taxes or higher insurance premiums.

I don't expect anyone else to pay what I did to my body through my own choices. Nobody forced me to down Doritos a bag at a time. I did that on my own.

BTW, if insurance ever did start covering this type of surgery the cost would skyrocket as it always does when somebody else pays.

I like you.

Agreed