[color=Teal]I know this question has been discussed many times before, but I couldn't find it when I did a search.

Is there anyone out there who can shed some light on stomach surgery being covered by Medicare for women who've given birth to multiples? I asked a lady at the Medicare office last week and she couldn't help me.

Thanks.

Vanessa

Vanessa, I have no idea, but let me tell you if someone says definitely that it is covered I'll be getting a tummy tuck in a flash! I was under the impression that if the problem is caused by multiple pregnancy that it was covered by medicare. I guess the only people that would no for certain are the surgeons themselves?

I just read about this on another site too. Apparently you can get a boob job too. Now I'll be lining up when I get this 4th baby of mine. :eg:



[img]http://www.geocities.com/jussy227/kidsjuly05.txt[/img]

Hi,
I had an umbilical hernia from my pregnancy and needed to have it fixed and when I had it fixed the doc also gave me a little tummy tuck. He told me that medicare does cover it.

I came across this:

http://www.faceandbodymedical.com/body_abdom.html


http://health.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=2540


So maybe Medicare will cover part of the cost?! The first bit of info was from a private surgeons website - I guess you could potentially get the surgery free if you were a public patient?
twinoski did you have your surgery done privately or publicly?

edit: I came across this discussion:
http://www.weddingsa.com/forum/topic.asp?A...e&TOPIC_ID=7105
where a lady says she had a tummy tuck after having twins, done publicly, and it cost nothing! Wooohoo!

Me 33, DH 37


This message was edited by doh on Thursday, 11 August 2005 @ 12:03 AM

[color=Teal]Wow, thanks for the info! I'll look into it and get back to you! I was actually thinking of liposuction, as not only does it remove fat, but it also tightens the skin! I'm guessing that probably wouldn't be covered, but if there's a way, I'll find it!! ;p

I went in to a public hospital. I had to wait until I finished breastfeeding and then I went in 4weeks later. My doc did not take all the skin as I want to have more children and he had to leave enough incase of twins again :gasp:. On my last visit to him he said once I had made the decision not to have more children I could go back to him and he would fix me totally. Yeh. and it would be billed to medicare. My DP also has big scars on his tummy from an operation when he was 3months old which he also said he can have fixed at no cost as there is something covered in medicare to fix your old battle scars from past operations. Hope this helps
Jodi

how do you get it covered by medicare? my stomach is disgusting and i have been discussing with my dp to save up to get it done. my stomach muscles are ruined so i guess i would qualify. do you make an appointment to go and see a plastic surgeon? any info would be great as i am so interested in this!

rach

Rach (26)
BJ (35)
Aidan & Keenan - 6 months
[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/]

I went to my local GP and was then referred to a specialist. The only thing I had to pay for was to see him which cost $66.00 each time (I had to see him three times. once before and twice after the op.)

Twinoski how long did you have to wait from the time you saw the specialist to the time you had your surgery? I have heard in Victoria the waiting list is atleast 8 years or more to have it done....... I keep meaning to organise a referral through my GP, if only I could find the time to go see my GP LOL !!!!!!!!

was the surgery very painful and took a long time to recover from? if you don't mind me asking........

Jane
Jackson&Riley 16/11/01 Ella&Liam 26/08/04

LOL wondered when you'd pop your head in Jane. I think you'd definately qualify.



[img]http://www.geocities.com/jussy227/kidsjuly05.txt[/img]

[color=Teal]Oh, more info please!! This is getting exciting!! ;p

So, does anyone know if you can get this done with your own doctor at a private hospital, or do you have to go on a waiting list and have it done at a public hospital?!?! And, what exactly is the procedure called? I don't know if I actually want to have any skin removed as such. I just want fat sucked out and apparently while that's done it can also tighten up the skin!

I did call a cosmetic surgeon and asked the receptionist about whether or not liposuction is covered (as I thought this was the procedure everyone was talking about, but it appears it was actually a tummy tuck instead), and I was told that it's elective surgery so it's not covered.

But, I'd love to know more!!

Vanessa

[color=Teal]Oh, and I also sent an email to the AMBA asking them if they knew anything about this.

Can anyone tell I'm getting desperate?!?! ha ha ha

Vanessa

dont worry vanessa i am desperate too. i am going to look further into this, as i so don't want my stomach the way that it looks now for the rest of my life!

Rach (26)
BJ (35)
Aidan & Keenan - 6 months
[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/]

LOL Juzzy - I haven't had time to get on to EB for ages - as you've probably noticed LOL!! so couldn't resist when I saw this thread to pop my 2 cents in
I really want to have the surgery!! hehehehe

Jane
Jackson&Riley 16/11/01 Ella&Liam 26/08/04

when I first went to see the specialist I was still breastfeeding. I waited to finish that and then went back to see him. 6weeks later I was in having surgery. I may have been pushed up the line as I had an umbilical hernia as well. The surgery was painful but hey.... compared to carrying twins it was a drop in the ocean. LOL. The pain is very much like a c/s. It hurts to cough, laugh etc and you can't stand up straight for a few weeks. It took me a good proper 2months to get back into the swing of things but as I said before I had an umbilical hernia as well so that had to be treated so I may have had more pain because of that. I am still not happy with my tummy and I will definately be going back to see him when I am finished having bubbies. I think personally if your tummy upsets you... as it did me... I recommend to have it done. Just don't expect miracles ladies remember you are all multiple mum's and once you stretch your skin to capacity unfortunately you have to accept a bit of damage to your body.
Jodi

[color=Teal]Hi Jodi

Thanks so much for the info.

I hope you don't mind, but I've got a few more questions (if that's OK ).

Was it actually a tummy tuck that you had? Was there any liposuction involved? Do you have to go on a waiting list through the public system or can you do it privately? How big was the scar, and where do they make the incision?

I hope you don't mind me asking so many questions. I'd be happy if you'd rather "pm" me. I'm just so keen to find out more info.

Thanks again, Vanessa





This message was edited by No_idea! on Friday, 12 August 2005 @ 7:10 PM

No no, don't pm this info! We all want to know! Plastic surgeons aroung the country are going to be getting an influx of multiple mums wanting tummy tucks....me included!!

I am very interested too!

Jodie

Can I add my 2cents worth - I looked into it beacuse not only do I have "Twinskin" but my muscles have not come back together and have been told it is unlikely they will without surgery.

Tummytuck is skin and tissue only $3000-$5000
but I have my eye on
"Abdomnioplasty" Skin, Tissue and Muscle bought back together.

This is the responce I recieved from a plastci surgeon in Sydney

"The approximate cost of an abdominoplasty if you have private health insurance is $6500 if you are uninsured up to $10000. These costs include the surgeon fee, anaesthetist and hospital costs. Medicare can offer a rebate between $1100 - $1200."

If anyone finds a waiting list for a medicare covered procedure- Please point me in the direction, this is our last baby so anytime after March suits me

Lauren

<a href="http://www.snugglepie.com"><img border="0" src="http://www.snugglepie.com/cb/34055.png"></a>


url=http://lilypie.com][/url]

what I would suggest to any of you would be to go and see your local GP and ask to be referred to a specialist. I went public not private. there was no lipo involved with me.
hopefully you can all find someone to help you.
Jodi

Wow, this is so interesting. I often joke about having it sone but maybe its not such a fantasy. I have just lost about 10 kilos and am back to my pre-kids weight (actually smaller than I was), but I have so much extra skin. Not only from the weight loss but from the twins. When I stand in front of the mirror, I can kind of tuck it all up under my boobs with my arm and it looks great to see such a flat tummy.

I have heard that they can put what they take from the tummy and put it into your boobs. That would be awesome.

Atm I have been wearing those tight big undies which work well under jeans, just don't look great when you get undressed

Dolph

Mum to
DS Bailey 6
DS Jesse 3.5
DD/DS Summer & Taylor 1

Step-Mum to Elodie & Brooke

May I please make a comment here? I may not be a twin mum but have had 2 babies over 11 lb so I think I qualify for the twinskin tummy.
16 months ago I had an abdominoplasty and it was the best thing I have ever done. 12 months ago I also had some corrective surgery and a hysterectomy to fix damage from birthing 40cm heads!
Ladies please feel free to pm me if you would like to see b4 and after photos they are incredible if I can say so myself.
Unfortunately for me my first child weighed 11 lb 10 oz and did most of the damage to my skin he's now 23 but my last child I think is the one who finished the job by wrecking the muscles as well he weighed 11 lb 1 oz and is 3 1/2.

My surgeon said they were the worst damamged muscles he had seen and that is where the most pain came from post op. The rest was a breeze imo. To the person who asked how big is the scar? Mine is approx 50cm long they need to have that length to get the best possible result for us. I went from a size 16 to a 12 instantly!
Recovery from the hysto was the pits but now I am very happy with everything and have been back to the surgeon to talk about getting a boob lift. They are just waiting for me to get back to them with possible dates to proceed.

This would be good for mums who've had big babies too right. my twins came to a total of just over 5lbs so much smaller then lankysmum above.

So girls can you tell me what twin tummy is exactly? I'm trying to work out if I have it too. The liposuction sounds wonderful to me! lol I've put on 10 kgs in the last year. I was skinnier the day after I'd had the twins then now. Heck I think I was less weight the day before I had the twins then I am now.

Hi i presume twin tummy is the saggy over hanging excess skin and stretch marks? That is what it is for me. I weigh almost the same as i was before i was PG but i am now a size 12 whereas i was an 8-10 before. I look ok with clothes on, but without clothes - Yuck. My DP thinks i am ridiculous for being so paranoid about my belly but it is DISGUSTING! I hate it, and am so keen to have surgery to fix it - after we finish having bubbas that is.

Anyhow must go......................... if anyone goes to see their GP about this let us know what they say.

Rach :-)

Rach (26)
BJ (35)
Aidan & Keenan - 6 months

Twin Skin - The belt of skin around your middle you can grab with both hands and move around.

I reackon mine would weigh at least 5kg by itself

Lauren



url=http://lilypie.com][/url]

[color=Teal]Wow, all this info is fabulous! Thanks so much everyone.

Well, I have spoken with a cosmetic surgeon via email and he has advised me that liposuction is not covered by Medicare, even if you've had a multiple birth. Chances are it's also probably not covered by private health insurance either. So, it must just be the tummy tuck stuff that's covered by Medicare. My skin isn't fabulous, but I don't think I need any of it removed, so if I choose to have lipo, it'll be all at my own expense. I think I'll start saving!! ;p

Vanessa

Just wondering if anyone did anything about this yet.

My health fund says "generally" they will cover anything that has a medicare item no. (or something like that) but I can't get any information from medicare. I don't want to go to the expense and trouble of making appts with surgeons only to find out it will cost big $$ and won't be covered. Hmmm...not sure what to do.

tle - I have moved states so am currently looking for a new GP. As soon as I find one and can get an appointment I am going to get a referral to see a specialist. I have a list of specialists that don't charge a GAP with my health insurance, so I hope I can get a referral to see one of them.

I will let you know.

Just thought I'd give an update on what I've found over the last few days in case anyone else is interested.

I contacted a surgeon by email and she gave me the medicare item no. (30177) that she uses (I'm not sure if all surgeons use that no.) so I could check with my health fund whether or not it would be covered.

The good news is that my PHI will cover the hospital stay (apparently around $6000). The bad news is I'll still be out of pocket a fair bit for the surgeon & aneathatist (sp) fees. The surgeon will charge $3500 and out of that I will get back $890 - approx $670 from medicare and $220 from the health fund. The aneathatist will charge $1950 and I will only get back $395 from medicare and $160 from the health fund. Apparently that's the worst case scenario though. If the surgeon will charge under something called "access gap" (some agreement between PHI and surgeon) then I will get alot more back but it's is up to the surgeon to decide.

So basically, it would end up coting me $4005 at the most. But, that's assuming I don't decide to have a little lipo while I'm there which I'm sure I will (I hate my lower legs and upper arms).

Sounds promising and even DH didn't baulk at the idea or more specifically the cost. I guess the next step is to make an appt but I don't want it done until April - there's just too much on between now and then.