Will Medicare cover a FLAT mastectomy?

Christene502

I am having Bilateral mastectomy May 6th. I have Medicare as my primary and I do have secondary medical Ins.

Medicare covers reconstruction I don't know if it will cover "Flat" procedures.

Would going Flat be considered Medically Necessary? Balance? Avoid deformity?

sbelizabeth

My mom was on medicare when she had a "scar revision" of her mastectomy. After her initial surgery she had big dog ears, lumps and bumps, and she hated the sight of it. Medicare covered another surgical procedure to smooth out her chest and she was very pleased with the result.

A plastic surgeon will be able to submit the right coding to medicare to get your surgery covered.

Christene502

sbelizabeth Thank you, this is what I wanted to hear.

sbelizabeth

Christene, I think I misunderstood your original post. I though you'd already had your mastectomies and were unhappy with the scars. Since your surgery isn't until May 6, that's not the case.

Be absolutely sure your surgeon knows what you want before you both enter the operating room. Many surgeons routinely leave extra skin in case you want a delayed reconstruction later. If you're sure you want your chest to be smooth and flat, tell your surgeon. Tell him/her a couple of times!

Breast surgeons are generally not plastic surgeons, though, and some are more skillful than others at creating a nice scar. Also, if your body type is on the "fluffy" side, like mine, it's a bit more challenging to create a smooth, flat chest. Nevertheless, if smooth and flat is what you want, and you are unhappy with your scars after your initial recovery, consult a plastic surgeon. He/she can help.

Christene502

sbelizabeth I am not skinny at all... Do have rolls, don't want any more added...

What bothers me, on the plastic surgeon website, they have tons of before and after... NOT one picture of Flat mastectomies...

alto

That was one of the reasons I didn't do plastic surgery: no pictures of someone like me (missing some breast skin and a nipple). It kind of felt like, Why bother going through it all if it's not worth taking a picture of? Without a clear idea how I'd end up - and it wasn't sounding promising that symmetry would ever be in my future - I just decided to go flat instead, and figure out symmetry on my own.

Irishlove

Christene502, I just asked my surgeon for a prophylactic mastectomy and I have Medicare Advantage. She informed me it's gonna be a challenge. Here are some hints: 1. You must have a very bad backache if you had a single mastectomy for bc and want the other removed. 2. Family history 3. Prior lumpectomies 4. Inability to take Tamoxifen or AI's 5. High risk of new primary in the noncancerous side.

I did not have any problem with approval for the mastectomy for the bc side. I waited to recover first (I have MS) and wanted to make an informed decision to remove the other breast and heal somewhat. So I should hear Monday if it's approved. My insurer is BCBS of N.C. Good luck to you.

Christene502

Very upset, my breast surgeon informed me that he leaves extra skin just in case patients changes their mind about going flat.

I made it clear to him I do not want extra skin.. No reconstruction... He looked at me and my husband with a strange face..

I told him to write it down, but he didn't.

He then said I need to see a plastic surgeon, since I said not Dog Ears, Extra Skin.... which I am doing on Thursday, Just a few days away from my surgery...