Guest guest Posted August 29, 2004 Report Share Posted August 29, 2004 Hi everyone, we are new to the group. My wife is needing jaw surgery to help her with her breathing. Her bone structure has changed over the years and her airway has become restricted. We live in Southern California and have been told that Dr Arnett in Santa Barbara is one of the better surgerons in his field. Can anyone in the group reference any experience with this doc? From an insurance perspective, he is not " in network " so we are going to have to pay for a significant portion of the procedure. His fee's seem very high to me and he wants his money up front. Is this customary? My wife is comfortable with this doc and I know that is a big part of the process. Are there other doctors we should consider in the So Cal area? Looking forward to getting lots of good advice Jim & Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 29, 2004 Report Share Posted August 29, 2004 Hi everyone, we are new to the group. My wife is needing jaw surgery to help her with her breathing. Her bone structure has changed over the years and her airway has become restricted. We live in Southern California and have been told that Dr Arnett in Santa Barbara is one of the better surgerons in his field. Can anyone in the group reference any experience with this doc? From an insurance perspective, he is not " in network " so we are going to have to pay for a significant portion of the procedure. His fee's seem very high to me and he wants his money up front. Is this customary? My wife is comfortable with this doc and I know that is a big part of the process. Are there other doctors we should consider in the So Cal area? Looking forward to getting lots of good advice Jim & Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 29, 2004 Report Share Posted August 29, 2004 welcome jim and jan, I also had the surgery for sleep apnea. my upper and lower were advanced 8mm and 8mm genioplasty. you'll sleep much better now with little or no snoring and no more gagging to breathe. both the lower jaw and genioplasty will stretch out the tongue muscles so they don't block the airway while the upper stretches and tightens the upper palate. I'm assuming you're having the same thing. beats the heck outa cpap. my doc was in network so i didn't have to pay. they billed for 30,000 but got paid 16,000. not as painful as the UPPP but the recovery can be longer due to the bone healing taking 6-8 weeks. in network or out the skill of the surgeon is the most important. no procedure of this kind is without risks of complications. check out the sleepnet.com site for info and chat boards. I had surgery 3 months ago and have since found out i need to go back in to have the maxilla redone to fix my bite! it was fine when i started but changed after surgery. i have since lost my insurance and am being asked to pony up 14,750 bucks in advance for the second go round and after everyone takes their cut i'm sure it will go higher. as far as a cure for the apnea it was a resounding success. both of you will benefit from this. I don't know what he's charging but it's worth it if he's the best in the area. I can't stress it enough to go to the best if you can afford it. the very best are powell and riley at stanford who've done thousands of these as thats their specialty. many people travel to them for the extra assurance (i wish i had). I had blue cross and they covered the bimax but not the genioplasty (2150 out of pocket). i don't know why cuz it does the most good but probably not enough proven efficacy yet. good luck on your journey and remember the better the doc the less the complications. eric > Hi everyone, we are new to the group. My wife is needing jaw surgery > to help her with her breathing. Her bone structure has changed over > the years and her airway has become restricted. We live in Southern > California and have been told that Dr Arnett in Santa Barbara > is one of the better surgerons in his field. Can anyone in the group > reference any experience with this doc? From an insurance > perspective, he is not " in network " so we are going to have to pay > for a significant portion of the procedure. His fee's seem very high > to me and he wants his money up front. Is this customary? My wife > is comfortable with this doc and I know that is a big part of the > process. Are there other doctors we should consider in the So Cal > area? > > Looking forward to getting lots of good advice > > Jim & Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 29, 2004 Report Share Posted August 29, 2004 welcome jim and jan, I also had the surgery for sleep apnea. my upper and lower were advanced 8mm and 8mm genioplasty. you'll sleep much better now with little or no snoring and no more gagging to breathe. both the lower jaw and genioplasty will stretch out the tongue muscles so they don't block the airway while the upper stretches and tightens the upper palate. I'm assuming you're having the same thing. beats the heck outa cpap. my doc was in network so i didn't have to pay. they billed for 30,000 but got paid 16,000. not as painful as the UPPP but the recovery can be longer due to the bone healing taking 6-8 weeks. in network or out the skill of the surgeon is the most important. no procedure of this kind is without risks of complications. check out the sleepnet.com site for info and chat boards. I had surgery 3 months ago and have since found out i need to go back in to have the maxilla redone to fix my bite! it was fine when i started but changed after surgery. i have since lost my insurance and am being asked to pony up 14,750 bucks in advance for the second go round and after everyone takes their cut i'm sure it will go higher. as far as a cure for the apnea it was a resounding success. both of you will benefit from this. I don't know what he's charging but it's worth it if he's the best in the area. I can't stress it enough to go to the best if you can afford it. the very best are powell and riley at stanford who've done thousands of these as thats their specialty. many people travel to them for the extra assurance (i wish i had). I had blue cross and they covered the bimax but not the genioplasty (2150 out of pocket). i don't know why cuz it does the most good but probably not enough proven efficacy yet. good luck on your journey and remember the better the doc the less the complications. eric > Hi everyone, we are new to the group. My wife is needing jaw surgery > to help her with her breathing. Her bone structure has changed over > the years and her airway has become restricted. We live in Southern > California and have been told that Dr Arnett in Santa Barbara > is one of the better surgerons in his field. Can anyone in the group > reference any experience with this doc? From an insurance > perspective, he is not " in network " so we are going to have to pay > for a significant portion of the procedure. His fee's seem very high > to me and he wants his money up front. Is this customary? My wife > is comfortable with this doc and I know that is a big part of the > process. Are there other doctors we should consider in the So Cal > area? > > Looking forward to getting lots of good advice > > Jim & Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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