It’s usually the last choice a person has to take; because lap band surgery is a fairly expensive procedure, but your health is something that has more value than just money. If you could lose over 100 pounds and dramatically improve your health and life expectancy wouldn’t it be worth the money?
Plus, if you consider how much you would be spending on all the fad diets, weight loss gimmicks and “quick-fix” health products, the cost of the lap band surgery becomes more realistic. Some of these weight loss weight loss gimmicks include expensive diets and their associated “special meal plans”, but the lap band surgery costs doesn’t involve any additional long-term fees.
The prices of the lap band surgery do vary and the objective of this article is to give you an idea of what the costs would be for this surgery and what additional or associated costs to consider as well.
The cost of lap band surgery depends mainly on where you plan to have the procedure done. There are many lap band and gastric banding clinics offering the procedure in both Canada and the United States, but it’s also very common for patients to have the surgery done in foreign countries like Mexico, Brazil and especially India, for a much cheaper price.
CANADA
Within Canada, there are several major lap band clinics offering the lap band procedure. The price of the procedure is between $16,000 - $18,000, and the lap band surgery is not covered by OHIP. As a result, many of these lap band clinics offer financing to patients who qualify. Some of the more popular lap band clinics in Canada include TLBC, CIBO clinic and the Surgical Weight Loss Centre.
From our research, CIBO clinic seems to be the hands-down best provider; some of their success stories are pretty unreal! Their founder, Tom Saridis, got the lap band surgery himself and lost over 260 pounds!! Read about it here and stay tuned as we are in the process of securing an exclusive interview with Tom Saridis for a future post here at lap band blog.
US
In the United States, the cost of lap band surgery has been steadily going down over the past few years. But the range is extreme and can be anywhere from $13,000 - $30,000, not even including any of the associated costs that you’ll have before or after surgery. However, the lap band surgery can be covered by insurance in the United States for those that have health policies and also qualify in terms of the necessary health requirements for the procedure which were outlined in the last post here.
When determining the cost of the surgery you must also take into consideration all the other associated costs, including lab tests, doctor’s and surgeon’s fees, and hospital expenses. Not to mention the post-surgery follow up tests, doctor visits and perhaps psychological support and counseling as well as food, diet and nutritional counseling.
The cost of the lap band surgery has been decreasing in the United States over the past few years. The main two factors are the increased number of surgeons performing the operation as well as the competition from foreign countries like Mexico and India, where they offer the lap band surgery for a fraction of the price.
There may also be more internal competition within the United States, making the lap band surgery cheaper, especially in cities like Houston, Dallas, and Chicago and in states such as Florida, Illinois, Texas and California. For more information on the cost of the lap band surgery in the US, check out Lap Band Solutions.
MEXICO
Many people who want the lap band surgery consider getting it done in Mexico because the entire procedure can be as little as $8000 in Mexico. But when you start to add on on all your travel costs - airfare and airfare for any return visits if necessary, hotel stays, rental cars - the cost does increase. Plus, you will probably need at least one family member their for support so you need to account for their expenses as well when traveling abroad to get the procedure done. The procedure itself is usually a one-night stay or less and the actual hospital costs themselves will be much less when compared to US costs.
Surgery outside the United States will probably not be covered by your health insurance company. Because of this, if you’re covered by your health insurance policy then it would be better and safer to have your lap band surgery in the United States. Plus if medical complications should unfortunately arise you will be better protected legally.
INDIA
One of the mast famous lap band providers in India is Forerunners Healthcare. They have plenty of success stories and are all over the media. They also arrange financing for USA, Canadian, UK and other international patients who plan to have surgery abroad for low cost, as the lap band and gastric banding surgery is not covered by insurance. They also have photos pasted of their International patients, you can checkout their website here. They have received many glowing reviews as they have highly trained doctors from India, UK, and abroad and offer 5-star facilities for a much cheaper price than what it would cost to have the procedure done in the US or Canada. However, the travel costs would be pretty extreme and might make it unreasonable for a Canadian or American citizen, but for Europeans it might be a more viable option.
CONCLUSION
When deciding whether or not you can afford the surgery, remember to keep in mind that there are many different lap band providers all over the world. However, at the end of the day you’re health is not something you want to risk, and when you take into consideration all the travel expenses (flight, medical and travel insurance, car rentals, hotel rentals, etc.) if you were to get the procedure done abroad; it just makes the most sense to get the procedure done at the best possible available local clinic.
This way you can quickly recover with the support of your friends and family, and you will also be much closer to post-operative support and community groups as well. You will have access to all the post-support programs that your local lap band clinic provides as opposed to just getting the procedure done abroad and having no follow-up checkups or communications.
Also, recovering in a foreign country without your loved ones can be extremely difficult as well. So remember, although you may be saving yourself a little bit of money, it may not be worth the extra risk and hassle to get the lap band surgery done abroad, especially when you consider that you won’t have access to post-surgery support, check-ups and local community groups and lap band groups. Always keep in mind that your health matters most!
