When deciding whether or not to have weight loss surgery, the first question that many people ask is "what is the cost of gastric bypass surgery these days?" Whilst this is a frequently asked question, unfortunately it is not a simple one to answer.
Gastric bypass surgery is an operation, requiring the services of a whole team of people including a qualified bariatric surgeon, an anesthetist, a psychologist and several other specialists, together with hospitalization for ordinarily two to three days followed by a two to six week week recovery period. Gastric bypass surgery also comes in a number of different forms today and Although the long-established Roux-en-Y procedure is still used by many surgeons, many other forms of surgery, in particular laparoscopic stomach surgery, are gaining in popularity.
Additionally, like many other forms of surgery, gastric bypass surgery is not risk free and, Whilst many individuals will sail through the operation, a minority will develop complications in hospital or while recovering at home which can step-up the cost of the surgery considerably.
Against this background it can be seen that the cost is going to be high and is going to vary widely, but just how high is it and what degree of variation can you expect?
Well, at the bottom end of the scale, a comparatively minor operation, like gastric banding, without any complications can be expected to cost around $20,000. This sum will increase to probably as much as $35,000 for full gastric bypass surgery. If complications do arise it is far from easy to calculate what the additional cost might be but it would not be unreasonable to think in terms of a final figure of $50,000.
Though gastric bypass surgery is not cheap, the good news is that, for most people, a substantial part, or all, of this cost may be met by insurance. This will naturally depend upon the form of insurance policy you hold and the conditions of the policy and will often involve something of an uphill struggle with your insurance company but, nonetheless, this is undoubtedly the first avenue that you should research.
