Surgery soon, many questions

[Val7426]

Hey Luba,
I’m from Vancouver. The odds are you won’t be able to find a surgeon out of your province who will do the surgery. I’ve invested countless hours, as have others.

If you need the surgery your options are the US or overseas. We’re flying to Istanbul, Turkey in December for my husband’s bilateral styloidectomies, vein decompression and potential C1 shave. I posted about it a couple hours go.

In the states:
Cognetti: 4 month waitlist for consultation. $8kUSD + 12k if you need vascular. Budget $20-25k USD per side plus flight and accommodation.

Everyone else is about $60k+ USD plus flight and accommodation.

Good luck!!

[Isaiah_40_31]

@Luba - Here’s the link to @Val7426’s recent post:

A Canadian's Journey: VES Surgery in Türkiye Dec. 10

Hi all, First and foremost, THANK YOU to everyone who provided advice and support. @Isaiah_40_31, your advice and compassion has been a guiding light since the start of JC’s diagnosis. For that, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’m going to write everything into this post, and update it going forward. I hope it will act as a guide for those who feel they cannot get support in their own country. JC has been VES symptomatic for many years and was undiagnosed. He has a diagnosis of long co…

Dr. Aghayev has gotten good reviews from our members who have gone to him for ES & VES surgeries.

[Luba]

Thank you, Val🙏

[Val7426]

@Luba another option is Dr. Bargiel in Krakow, Poland. He charges 9200€ (15k CAD) for the bilateral procedure. However, he only takes on classic ES and does not touch the vascular side of things. That ruled him out for JC’s surgery. He’s published a study on his 97 recent surgeries and has some good info on his Instagram. However, no one that I know of from this forum has used him.

Not assuming any of these are “affordable” options for anyone. We couldn’t finance enough for the US. That’s what drove us to look overseas.

[Luba]

So, Turkey was cheaper than the states? The flight is probably expensive. How is your husband doing now?

[Val7426]

If you read through my post it breaks down all the costs.

California (surgery only): $91,000
Turkey (all costs ) $35,000

Surgery is booked Dec. 10!!

A Canadian's Journey: VES Surgery in Türkiye Dec. 10

Hi all, First and foremost, THANK YOU to everyone who provided advice and support. @Isaiah_40_31, your advice and compassion has been a guiding light since the start of JC’s diagnosis. For that, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’m going to write everything into this post, and update it going forward. I hope it will act as a guide for those who feel they cannot get support in their own country. JC has been VES symptomatic for many years and was undiagnosed. He has a diagnosis of long co…

[JugularEagle]

There is an additional factor to consider.

I know people travel to Turkey, Mexico, etc for cheaper surgeries especially the plastic surgery type that doesnt get covered by insurance.

No matter where one gets their surgery one must always think about recourse if something goes horribly wrong . this is a delicate surgery. I have no idea what country provides the best protection against medical mishaps but they do have to factor into equation. And it is one reason why i am going to push as hard as i can to get insurance to cover my surgery in case I end up in the hospital for a week or more.

But if you cant afford a critical care surgery at certain locations you have to roll the dice and hope for the best

Yes, another example of my glass half empty look on life.

[Luba]

Thank you.

[Isaiah_40_31]

Again, you speak very practical truth, @JugularEagle!