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Older adults are more likely to develop drooping eyelids, and the surgical treatment for this is blepharoplasty, in which an incision is made in the upper eyelid, to remove excess skin and/or fat.
I have had this for years, but under private insurance, I never considered treatment because I assumed it would be classified a purely cosmetic procedure procedure, and the insurer would deny payment.
I am now retired and have Medicare health insurance plus a supplement. I still wasn't going to get it done, until I got a bit of information that was new to me.
I know a woman who is on Medicare who had the procedure, and Medicare paid for it. I used to work on the assumption that your vision had to be impaired by drooping eyelids or most insurers would deny payment. However, in the case of this retired woman, her eyelids didn't impair or block her vision, but they were sufficiently drooped that Medicare authorized and payed for the surgery.
I was never able to discuss this with the woman because she was a "friend of a friend" and I didn't know her that well, and eventually I moved out of state and lost all contact.
Has anyone here had this surgery, and were you pleased with the results? Anything unusual in your post-operative course? Any advice or opinions would be appreciated.
More specifically, has anyone had this surgery under Medicare?
From searching on the Internet, I discovered that both ophthalmologists and plastic surgeons perform this surgery. I think I would prefer to go to a ophthalmologist.
I had the surgery about 6 years ago for purely cosmetic reasons. My eyelids have always drooped a bit and they have always bothered me. I paid out of pocket though. I loved the results - worth every penny.
It is an easy surgery with minimal recovery time - basically 1 day. Though the bruising hangs around for 3 to 4 weeks.
I had an appointment for a consultation to have mine done last summer but cancelled. I am thinking of trying again this year. I have known several people in the older age range who have had it done: all have been happy and all were covered under medi care and supp insurance. I only have one eye that is really bad. And no my vision is not affected nor were the others I have known.
I had the surgery about 6 years ago for purely cosmetic reasons. My eyelids have always drooped a bit and they have always bothered me. I paid out of pocket though. I loved the results - worth every penny.
It is an easy surgery with minimal recovery time - basically 1 day. Though the bruising hangs around for 3 to 4 weeks.
What kind of doctor performed your surgery? Though I expressed a preference for an ophthalmologist, on second thought a poster in this thread in surely correct -- plastic surgeons may have performed this surgery more often than ophthalmologists do.
And I assume, on the basis of anesthesia alone, you had someone else drive you home post surgery.
Older adults are more likely to develop drooping eyelids, and the surgical treatment for this is blepharoplasty, in which an incision is made in the upper eyelid, to remove excess skin and/or fat.
I have had this for years, but under private insurance, I never considered treatment because I assumed it would be classified a purely cosmetic procedure procedure, and the insurer would deny payment.
I am now retired and have Medicare health insurance plus a supplement. I still wasn't going to get it done, until I got a bit of information that was new to me.
I know a woman who is on Medicare who had the procedure, and Medicare paid for it. I used to work on the assumption that your vision had to be impaired by drooping eyelids or most insurers would deny payment. However, in the case of this retired woman, her eyelids didn't impair or block her vision, but they were sufficiently drooped that Medicare authorized and payed for the surgery.
I was never able to discuss this with the woman because she was a "friend of a friend" and I didn't know her that well, and eventually I moved out of state and lost all contact.
Has anyone here had this surgery, and were you pleased with the results? Anything unusual in your post-operative course? Any advice or opinions would be appreciated.
More specifically, has anyone had this surgery under Medicare?
From searching on the Internet, I discovered that both ophthalmologists and plastic surgeons perform this surgery. I think I would prefer to go to a ophthalmologist.
Thanking you in advance for any information.
It depends. Drooping eyelids can be related to thyroid disease. In such a case, the surgery is classed as medical, not cosmetic. Also, it's possible, that if the eyelids are limiting your vision (you may not notice this, but the ophthalmologist would), it might be classified as medically necessary. I don't know that for sure, but you could see a specialist to get evaluated and ask.
I can only tell you that with a very extensive exam, I did not have enough interference in vision for Medicare to approve payment.
That happened to me too. It's been about two years since I was tested though and I know it's worse now than it was then. I had a mini stroke and it caused my eyelid to droop. I'm still looking forward to getting it done, eventually. They told me I "did too good" on the test and it "wasn't bad enough" yet, but, for some reason, I didn't realize I was supposed to fail and did the best I could !! Next time I'll "fail". lol
What kind of doctor performed your surgery? Though I expressed a preference for an ophthalmologist, on second thought a poster in this thread in surely correct -- plastic surgeons may have performed this surgery more often than ophthalmologists do.
And I assume, on the basis of anesthesia alone, you had someone else drive you home post surgery.
Actually, ophthalmologists perform it more often. I have worked in ophthalmology more than a decade and we do blapharoplasties routinely. Medicare only covers medically necessary surgeries. In the case of drooping eyelids, it is considered medically necessary when the eyelids are so saggy they do not properly cover the corneas when the patient closes his/her eyes. In this case for them to cover it, the droopy eyelids have to cause the secondary problem of dry eyes, which can then lead to further epithelial damage of the cornea. However, most droopy lids are not that severe.
My mom had this surgery, and she is on Medicare and a supplemental. Hers was justified because the drooping eyelid obstructed her vision.
She is not happy with her surgery because there is absolutely no improvement. It doesn't look worse, but it is not better either.
My aunt also had this surgery (I guess droopy eye lids run in the family), and although I've not seen her in several years, she looked great the first 2-3 years after surgery. Her eyes were wide open, even more so than they would have naturally (or when she was younger).
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