Orchidectomy Costs

[josie76]

Well I was checking into getting an orchidectomy as I didn't think I might ever save up the cost of GCS. I found a urologist who will do them for transwomen in St Louis. My health insurance is an absolute no to anything. I asked if they had an idea of the self pay cost. This started out not sounding too bad but here is the breakdown.
Office visit: $200
Dr fee for procedure : $550
Estimate of hospital OR and anesthesiologist: $15,000 

Yep that's right OR rental 15 grand.

By the time I would have saved that I might as well have saved more and gotten GCS.
Looks like it's going to he years away. 

[Devlyn]

I didn't think the simple technique required an operating room and full anesthesia. My consult is in a week, I'll be posting anything I learn there.

Hugs, Devlyn

[AnneK]

I thought it could be done with a local in the doctor's office.  Even a short term general anesthesia can be done there.  That's what I had when I had my wisdom teeth out.

[Wanda Jane]

I've been quoted $3500 cash in office procedure by the same doc that'll eventually do GRS. Texas.

[josie76]

They never said if he does bilateral or ingunal. I did not get a consult appointment because I wanted to see if they could make it covered by my insurance. I had hoped the pain I e been having would at least be a possibility. They said my insurance said it's a non covered service period. I wish I could get an individual policy here in IL but that's about to be impossible real soon with the bill running through Congress.

[Wanda Jane]

I've been quoted $3500 cash in office procedure by the same doc that'll eventually do GRS. Texas.

This was for bilateral ingunal.

[josie76]

Well just to update this,

I went to a different urologist who I had originally emailed their office not long after coming out to my SO. Back then the office worker emailed back and said the one doctor will do it. I tried to find the cost over email but never received a response.

So I got an appointment because I was having really bad testicular pains. We discussed the orchi then also. She said pain was not a medical nessecary reason. She sent me to get a sonogram to check everything. It was all normal, except they were a full cm smaller than they were when I had a sonogram about 5 years prior. So I went back for the follow up for the pain. Staying on an older antidepressant that also treats neurological pain like testicle shrinkage.

So she brought up the orchi again. She said since I have a letter already she would have them figure out the self pay cost for it all.

Well this time it's sounding much better than the other doctor who I had contacted. Doctor fee $750, surgical center fee $1700, still waiting on the Anastasia fee from that provider. I think it's actually in range of me getting it done.

First I can get off Spironolactone. Second won't need finasteride either. Third and mainly important, she will sign the documents that I can use to do all my legal changes with! 

I can feel it getting within reach!

Than maybe someday I'll be able to afford the full GCS but I'm thinking at least a nose job, finish getting rid of the facial hair, and maybe voice glottoplasty will be first in line. I'd rather get closer to passability first. I'd like to feel complete down there but it doesn't need to be first in line.

[Chris8080]

We have much in common Josie. I started having testicle pain about 10 years ago and learned quickly that you do not tell a urologist that your testicles are painful. I've seen 4 about it not including the current one that is doing the orchie. A local urologist 10 minutes from home came in sat down and asked what the problem is. I said my testicles hurt so bad I can't even sleep at night. He said . . . "I don't have time for this ->-bleeped-<-", got up and walked out, appointment over except for the $400 bill.

2 years later and a 3 1/2 hour one way drive to a real Urologist and it is getting done on the 26th of this month. Was slow, took all of this year and many of those 3 1/2 hour drives but 25 days, 600 hours from right now but hey, who's counting?

It's scheduled for the hospital main OR, not an office visit but it will be with a local and not a general anesthesia. They said about an hour procedure, an hour or two after to make sure I'm alright and I'm discharged. Finally and it only took 60 years, I guess ya just can't rush into some things.

Insurance has paid everything so far but I haven't heard yet about the orchie and I still don't know what the out of pocket costs would be. Just in case I am saving my pennies. My MD that recommended this Urologist said that he is very good at wording the insurance claims so that they do pay so I am hopeful.

[josie76]

It's funny, or maybe not, the difference between doctors. My urologist who I will have do the orchi said testicular pain is not really rare. She gave me an older antidepressant that actually worked well for that kind of pain. Didn't take it all away but made it just noticeable. She said pain like that she could not justify to the insurance as medically necessary.

[Chris8080]

One Urologist told me that pain was no reason to remove them, he said if someone has back pain you don't remove their spine. I told him that if you removed someone's spine you have made him into a bowl of jello, if you removed my testicles what you have made is one very happy camper. That didn't impress him much. Had another tried to solve my problem with various prescription drugs including hydrocodone, that's when I learned that stuff causes severe constipation. Try going 2 weeks without going pottie. 

[josie76]

That would suck.

What I'm on is amitriptyline.

[Chris8080]

Well this time it's sounding much better than the other doctor who I had contacted. Doctor fee $750, surgical center fee $1700, still waiting on the Anastasia fee from that provider. I think it's actually in range of me getting it done.

I can feel it getting within reach!

Josie, have you gotten the total cost yet? I've seen a huge variation posted in what it costs out of pocket. Everything from insane scary to doable. I haven't pressed either the surgeon or the hospital for out of pocket costs, still waiting on confirmation from the insurance and I don't want to give them the idea that the insurance won't pay and open a can of worms. The result of that is making me a nervous wreck. My MD that recommended this Urologist says that he is very good at wording the insurance claim so they do pay. My gender counselor that is quite familiar with this hospital said that when insurance doesn't pay they will work with you. Whatever that means. I have saved $3,000 so far and if total cost is much over that out of pocket I dunno, guess I'll have to shop around.

Surgery scheduled for 20 days from today on the 26th and it's very much like a dream that I will wake up from the morning of the 26th. Hopefully on the morning of the 27th I will wake up with a big smile on my face. Time is crawling so slowly. A 60 year dream coming true? A 60 year nightmare finally ending? Maybe, right now I need to go beat my head on the wall some more.

[josie76]

I still haven't gotten a firm price for the anastiesiologist but looks like it should be less than $3000. This is in St Louis.

I wish my doctor would "work" the insurance to make it medically necessary but I think most don't push their licences on the line for us.

Edit yes $3000 for the whole procedure.

[Chris8080]

You must mean $3,000 total, can't be for the anesthesiologist, if the surgeon gets $750 the guy that gives the shots and checks blood pressure can't be getting 4 times the surgeon. I can deal with $3,000 but still holding my breath for the insurance.