Cost of AVR

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Gail K

Hello,

I will likely be having an aortic valve replacment this Spring. I'm trying to decide on whether to have minimally invasive surgery at the Cleveland Clinic or full surgery at a hospital in my home State.

I talked to the Cleveland Clinic and was given an estimate of $99,500 for an AVR using minimally invasive surgery.

I tried getting an estimate for full sugery with a supposedly good surgeon at a hospital in my State and all I could get was an estimate for the surgeon of a little less than $10,000. His office told me I wouldn't be able to get an estimate from the hospital because they don't know how long I'll be there. They've had other patients try to get estimates and they've never been able to.

I'd love to hear from people who have had full AVR surgery tell me how much it all cost so I can get some idea of what to expect. Our insurance coverage is good, but we do have a lifetime coverage limit of $500,000 so I want to try and be mindful of that, especially since I'll be getting a porcine or bovine valve and re-surgery is a strong possibility once or twice in the future. If it doesn't make much difference in cost, I'd just as soon get the minimally invasive surgery in Cleveland.

Thank you,
Gail
 
Although my numbers are totally meaningless now, they do say something about medical inflation. With my MAV in 1967, the hospital bill for 14 days was $6700. I don't remember the surgeon bill but I am pretty sure the entire cost was +/- $10000. Hearing amounts like $100000 I certainly hope that my mechanical valve DOES last my lifetime.
 
Total cost at Brigham was right around $100,000 with a catherization, AVR and five day stay.
 
Hi Gail -

Welcome to the site! Remember that the surgeon's office may charge $10,000 but their contract with your insurance may only allow, say, $5000.

And may I say, remember this is your heart. You only have one. You want the best care for it possible and that includes the best procedure by the most experienced and skilled surgeon in an excellent facility; and there are probably many of these, based on the variety of successful procedures posted by the members here. If you can get a repair that might last, excellent. But if you need a replacement, well that's that. And sometimes replacements need replaced. No matter what kind you choose.

There's a lot of information here -- so much it may scare you at first -- so take measured doses and read all you can because there are many things to consider about heart surgery. Take care and post again.
 
I'm 11 months post op and I never really calculated the complete amount....there are so many personal variables. I think it was about $80K. I wonder, does the insurance lifetime coverage mean the amount after the contract deductions are made? This would certainly change your computations.

The future is now, to some degree. I can certainly accept your logical approach, but it is so important to do these things right! If you are near a top knotch facility then why can't they do the minimal? If you are not near a good hospital and have to travel anyway....just go for the Cleveland Clinic!! Are you certain that in your case they can do it minimally? Not everyone is a candidate. Is there anything else that might need doing while they are in there? Have you had your angiogram?

What is your age? These tissue valves are lasting a pretty good long while when they are successful.

It is certainly interesting to hear the cost of everyone's surgery. Are we counting everything? the pre-surgery stuff, the post-surgery problems if any? For me, the guarantee that I could drive 10 minutes to get any post-surgery care from the guy who was inside me meant a lot to me. I didn't want to factor travel costs into it all.

Could we know a little more about you? :)

Marguerite
 
I received a copy of my bill to Kaiser for my stay at Alta Bates Hospital, they share the Heart Surgery unit. $267,000.00, I was there for two weeks when I had my AVR. What a shock, sure glad I didn't have to pay it.
 
Hi Gail!
I had my aortic valve replaced with minimal invasive surgery at CCF, but my costs wouldn't be comparable as I also had an aortic aneurysm fix at the same time. Because you are planning on going with a biological valve (which I chose as well) and are young enough to be expecting at least one resurgery (also my situation), I'd like to strongly recommend that you go to the best surgeon you can. The risks associated with resurgery have gone down, but they still exist - I was told to assume that my chances of death or permanent disability would roughly double with each surgery. There are many factors that figure into how well you do in surgery - your overall health, age, luck, etc - but one of the most important is the experience of your surgeon and this is especially true in resurgeries because scar tissue can result in unexpected challenges and problems. So, unless your state hospital does a lot of resurgeries (I'm afraid I didn't notice where you're from before starting this note :) ), I'd recommend you go with CCF or some other high-volume resurgery center if your insurance will allow it. Best, Kate
 
Thank you

Thank you

Hello All,

Thank you so much for your replies! I never expected such a nice response.

I am 57 and currently in Wisconsin. I just learned I have aortic stenosis in late December, but I am already noticing symptoms and suspect I may be ready for surgery. I will be having a double cath on Wednesday to find out.

After reading your posts, I'm coming to the conclusion that the Cleveland Clinic is not going to be that much more expensive than any hospital here. In that case, I'd just as soon go to Cleveland if I am a candidate for the minimally invasive surgery. Otherwise, I'll just have it done here as I've been told by my cardiologist and one other doctor that my surgeon is excellent and has a lot of experience with valve replacements. He apparently doesn't do minimally invasive surgery, though.

It's really amazing how expensive the hospital stays are and how much medical care has gone up since the late 60's. Thanks again to all for replying. It really helped.

Gail
 
The cost of surgery is a curious topic. Following my AVR via the Ross Procedure I totaled up all my hospital billlings. The total billings were around $234K. Of that, I had to pay about $4,900. Thank the Lord for Blue Shield of California.

The interesting thing was that the actualling paid amount by my insurance company was about $34K. Through my experience, I learned that the entire medical payment system is one big game among the doctors, hospitals and insurance companies.

Cheers. Adam
 
Gail,

Did you see the recent thread entitled "Cleveland, Denver, or India?" started by ChristinaL in the Heart Talk Forum?

Here is the link to the article she referenced

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_5491281?source=rss

Bottom Line: You can get Valve Replacement Surgery at a TOP RATED Hospital in India for $15,000 !

Catheran Burnett, R.N. and Promotional Manager for On-X told me she has been there (in the O.R.) and the facility is
OUTSTANDING.

'AL Capshaw'
 
Costs...

Costs...

Kate made some excellent points in her posting.

I had my (minimally invasive) AVR almost 5 years ago, here are the approximate cost details:-

Total Cost - $140K
4 days in hospital

I HAD NO INSURANCE .......... OUCH !! :(

[self employed with pre-existing condition = impossible to get insurance]

Hospital = 90% of total
Surgeon = 6%
The good lady who kept me sleeping :) = 4%

Good luck what ever you choose.
Stan
 
Hi Gail, welcome to the boards! I'm originally from Madison....have you checked there for surgeons, I'll bet they have awesome ones at the UW!

My surgery was around $100k, that was 8 days in ICU and 2 in a regular room, of which I had to pay $30 each nite (well worth it). I remember my cardio telling the EKG tech that the hospital lost money on me, that they charge a set amount for an AVR for 5 days, if I stay less they make money, if I stay more they lose...they lost! Of course the insurance had a contract with the hospital so it was actually about half, I too wonder if that lifetime is on the original or what was actually paid!

I had to pay $300 out of pocket, which is what I had left for the year. Good luck and keep us posted :)
 
My total bill was around 130,000. The annuplasty ring I wear in my heart is a cool 4K alone. I hear those artificial valves are going for upwards of 5K these days. I was facinated by my hospital bill, everything was in there from the 30 cents for an 81mg baby asprin all the way up & down the scale. Great reading.

Good luck with your decision. UW Madison alumni here, I would think Madison would have a good heart hospital.

I can see the appeal of minimally invasive too. I'd want to know I was a candidate for certain. Any need to do arteries at the same time usually means no min-invasive so if that's the primary decision point then you may want to have the cardiac cath done earlier than later. Mine was done only the day before surgery and held in the balance was whether I'd have to have a sternotomy or not. It turned out I could have the right thorocotomy I wanted and I'm glad it worked out that way. I wish I'd known for certain in advance though.

Best Regards,
Ruth
 
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