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My mother in law had it done as soon as she qualified for Medicare. Truth be told, it was pretty much completely cosmetic for her, but her doctor got it approved through Medicare.
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.
This is true but it needs to be qualified.
In hypothyroidism, one can have drooping eyelids. But that is only one of a constellation of symptoms that point toward hypothyroidism: other symptoms include hoarse voice, puffy face, fatigue, weight gain, constipation, etc.: https://www.merckmanuals.com/home/ho...hypothyroidism
I get annual physicals (including a full panel of bloodwork), and my thyroid has always been normal. And my drooping eyes are an isolated symptom -- that is, I don't have any other symptoms associated with hypothyroidism.
My cousin is an office manager for an eye doctor and Medicare is very liberal with approving this surgery. My uncle as well as two aunts had this surgery done recently and it was easily approved by Medicare. I don't think their vision was that impaired either. Frankly when I heard they all had this surgery I was skeptical. Seems like just more Medicare waste.
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.
I have a friend who worked at a doctor's office. She had both her eyes done and loved the result. She told me she got it done under our medical system by saying her eyes were tired and strained from lifting the excess skin on her upper lids to see properly. I think getting approval is all in the wording.
My father had this done a few years back. It was pretty bad for several years but didn't meet the vision reduction criteria until recently. It worked out very well for him.
My cousin is an office manager for an eye doctor and Medicare is very liberal with approving this surgery. My uncle as well as two aunts had this surgery done recently and it was easily approved by Medicare. I don't think their vision was that impaired either. Frankly when I heard they all had this surgery I was skeptical. Seems like just more Medicare waste.
I totally agree. I used to feel the same when my MIL would go to the podiatrist to get her nails cut insted of a nail saloon. oh well, to each his own. One reason I cancelled my appointment for my eye lids was,knowing there really was no true eye problems even though I hate the way the one eye droops
I know 3 people who did it, and the results are visually stunning. Years off their appearance, and they look wide-eyed and energetic.
One woman, though, lost significant vision that hasn't returned and can't be corrected with lenses.
If you google it, this is not an uncommon side effect.
Your double negative ("not an uncommon") means that this is a common side effect. Please provide references in scientific medical literature to support your statement. PubMed is great source.
In the following study in which a 13-question survey was sent to American and British plastic surgeons, the total number of blepharoplasties was 762,816. Surely that is a sufficient sample size.
Thirty-nine cases of vision loss were reported: 25 permanent and 14 temporary. The authors conclude that " . . . blindness after blepharoplasty is a rare event": https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21239669
It is good to always consider the risks as well as the benefits of any proposed surgery. The take home: talk to your surgeon about the risks and benefits, and their respective frequencies.
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