Surgery is now a great option for LE!

HappyTrisha

For those who are newly diagnosed with LE and even for those who are not (I had LE for 13 years when I had my surgery) I just want you to know that LE surgery has come a long way and the studies are now showing that it definitely works. Node transplants used to be the gold standard in surgery and now, even though they are still being used, LVA seems to be a more viable option for many. If you have any interest in reading about it, there is lots of information in the "LVA surgery - bypass surgery - Have you done it?" thread. Members also discuss their experiences with node transplants there. If you have any questions, I'm sure there will be members happy to answer them! May God continue to bless the dedicated surgeons who figured this out for us, and their nonstop research into newer and better surgical methods.

ann273

HappyTrisha, thanks so much for this post! I've had LE for about 3-4 years now, but over the last 6 months it's really flared and does not seem to go back down. Which surgeon did you go to? And how does insurance work with surgeries for Lymphedema.

Again, thanks so much for posting this, it made my day that there is an option (and a viable one!) when I need it.

HappyTrisha

I went to Dr. Wei Chen in Iowa. One of the ladies here had gone to him and couldn't say enough about him! I had consults with three other top surgeons in the field and ended up going to Dr. Chen. I travelled half way across the country to get to him but it didn't matter to me because I wanted the best, and I got the best. I had LE for more than 13 years when I had my surgery, and it was highly successful.

For some reason, I didn't get a notification about your post or I would have responded to it immediately. Please feel free to ask any other questions you may have. There are others here who also went to him so you might want to look in on the LVA surgery-bypass surgery. You will find lots of information there dealing with LVA and other surgeries! (Now I'm going to try to figure out why I wasn't notified about your post. If you do post again to me and don't get a fast response, please drop me a PM just to tell me you posted and I will answer asap!)

Blessings.

HappyTrisha

About insurance, I'm not totally sure how that works. I know that my insurance covered it and I know that the other ladies here who went to Dr. Chen were covered by insurance, but it may depend upon the specific insurance. (One of the ladies said she had to submit three times before she received approval.) I know that some people have been turned down with other doctors but I don't think it is doctor specific as much as maybe the particular state? And/or the insurer? I wish I could be more helpful with that, but that is the best I can tell you.