Re: Has anyone had excision surgery? I forgot to ask a few more questions?
From: Elisa (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Mon Aug 28 10:14:58 2006
Hi Pamela~
I am an advocate for this type of surgery as every time I get the laser
with the scopes, I get carbon build up right at the site of the lasering
and then when endo grows back it gets embedded with the carbon under my
skin. This type of surgery has proven (again this is only my
experience) to only last 3-6 months. For the money and the fast
recovery time it's wonderful for the longevity with excision I have had
2 years without Lupron, Synarel, etc. With those treatments which are
not fun, I did them since I am stage IV for 6-12 months..longer than we
are supposed to because it was in my urinary tract. With this approach
to "shrink" instead of activate them (which causes more to spread) my
Dr's where able to excise and dissect away from other organs. I
followed up this surgery with consecutive B-control until a hysterectomy
4 years later at the age of 38. I have received 8 wonderful years pain
free until this year so I can't complain. That is my longest ever. My
specialist is part of the Endometriosis Association and I go from
Chicago to Memphis to get treated by him only due to his wonderful
skills on excising and dissecting.
I hope this helps you in your reviews.
Have a great day!
--
Elisa
At Sun, 27 Aug 2006, PAMELA wrote:
>
>1) How long did your surgery last? 3.5 hours and helped me for 8 years with Synarel/Lupron to shrink it prior too and with consecutive B-control to cease the menses afterwards.
>
>2) Were you bedridden afterwards? Oh..yes..for about 2 weeks walking like an old lady. No different than a c-section.
>
>3) If you work, when were you able to return to work after your surgery?
> (Basically how much work did you miss) 8 weeks is good. Your still sore but can start half days is good. You will be sore until about 12 weeks out total.
>
>4) Did you have insurance? Yes...PPO only...HMO is very limiting and I used it at the first diagnosis of endo for me in 1990 and it was a nightmare to get a referral. I will always pay more to have a PPO if it's an option. I will never EVER use an HMO. We would by our own insurance first in order to have freedom of choice when this nightly episodes flare up.
>
> If so, did you have PPO or HMO?
>If you had PPO, did you have to pay anything up front (such as a
>deductible
>& coinsurance if it had not been met) whether your insurance was
>in-network
> or out-of-network?
>
>If you had HMO, did you have problems getting the surgery covered if
>your
> insurance was out-of-network?
>If so, did the doctor & his staff help you with your insurance to try to
> get your surgery covered?
> If so, did they still make you pay money up front?
>
>This is just something to help me greatly decide on if I want to have
>excision surgery or not. I am contemplating having it done before the
>end of the year. The only problem I do not know how much time that I
>might have to miss from work (I have very limited time at my job) & I
>really do not have alot of money to put down for a down payment. I have
>PPO insurance, but most of the good doctors who do excision surgery are
>out of my area (I live in Florida). I have met my deductible &
>coinsurance for this year with my insurance but that is of course for
>in-network doctors. But going to the excision surgeon that I want to go
>to would be out-of-network, which I have not even used any of those
>benefits with my insurance. I have 5,000.00 out-of-pocket that has not
>been met & I think either 600.00 or 300.00 deductible that has not been
>met. Either way I would have to pay quite a bit up front if the doctor
>makes me pay up front. The last surgeon that I went to to do my
>laparoscopy almost made me pay up front too, but I weasled my way out of
>it because I work at a hospital (I was EXTREMELY lucky that time). It
>is sad that these doctors are making us pay our deductible & coinsurance
>up front when we have insurance. That is why we have insurance. And
>many of us who have insurance cannot afford to pay anything up front
>even though we have insurance. It totally sucks. I spoke with some
>people at my job asking if I could somehow get a surgeon & hospital out
>of my area (who would be considered out-of-network) to be in-network
>with my insurance. I was told that it could be done, but it would
>probably have to be extenuating circumstances. That one woman that I
>spoke with said that my problem would not be considered that. That
>really made me angry. I think having Endo & having all the problems
>that we have we all need to have the money to be able to go to the best
>surgeon possible so that our life is bearable. I don't know why someone
>would say something like that. I guess from what she said it is not
>worth me calling my insurance or even writing a letter to get an
>authorization (or referral) from my insurance to make the surgeon &
>facility that I want to go to participating with my insurance (due to no
>good surgeons or hospitals in my area) because Endo is not VERY serious
>at all. I could just punch her out. Well, thanks for letting me vent
>some. Thanks to all of you that have alreay responded. All your
>responses helps greatly.
>
>--
>Pamela
>
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