"Denied, deal with it" - Anyone else???

My surgeon called me last night to inform me that my insurance had denied coverage for using a "Spy Camera" during my mastectomy operation, scheduled for next week. The reason given was "it is not a necessity" for the operation. The Spy Camera, based on my surgeon's explantion, is used for timely detection of the dying skin from inside of the chest once the breast tissue is taken out; therefore that the surgeon could replace the dead skin (or the dying skin) with healthy skin taken from another part of the body during the same operation. He was so surprised that the request was being denied because he had never been denied it before in his medical career, by any insurance company. He tried to reason with the insurance company, Cigna, and he did speak with the medical director who is in charge of the approval process. The response my surgeon received from the medical director was "denied, deal with it". My surgeon is concerned because without the "Spy Camera", the possibility of not being able to capture all dying skin is greatly increased, and the result of it would be that the surgeon would have to re-open the chest to remove the dead skin and replace it by the healthy skin later on, which means another operation! If I follow the doctor's procedure without the insurance, the cost could be up to $10,000-$15,000. I tried to call Cigna yesterday, but got no where since it was New Year's Eve and no one was around. Has anyone had a similar problem? How did you handle it? I am thinking of filing an appeal with the insurance, also check into filing the external appeal with NYS Dept of Finance. Any other suggestions? Your input is greatly appreciated!!!!