Lipedema is a condition in which excess fat accumulation affects thighs, buttocks, legs, and sometimes arms. Hands and feet are not affected by the accumulation of excess fat.
Giving an average lipedema treatment cost should be wrong because there are different approaches to treat this health issue. Doctors treat patients with Lipedema with surgery, liposuction, or therapies such as massage and compression therapy. The cost of Lipedema changes due to the treatment, doctor, and health facility. A Lipedema surgery cost is between $5500 US and $13000 US in Turkey.
İstanbul, as the most populated and developed city in the country, offers countless opportunities to its visitors. Foreign patients who visit İstanbul for lipedema treatment have many options in the city. Since there are a lot of famous surgeons and world-class health facilities in town, the prices vary. The type of treatment and the title of the surgeon are the primary elements that change the price of Lipedema. The prices change from $8000 US to $13000 US in İstanbul.
Once the surgeons decide the level of Lipedema, they plan the treatment. There are different types of Lipedema treatment, and if a surgical procedure is involved in the treatment process, the price rises. The type of the treatment, name of the doctor, location, and health facility affect the Lipedema cost.
If your doctor offers a surgical treatment for Lipedema that you have, then the price would include almost everything, such as the VAT, payment of the hospital, doctor, operating room, the team that accompanies the surgeon during your surgery. Other treatments of Lipedema that don't have surgical procedures are massage therapies, exercise therapies, or compression therapies. Each treatment may have a different number of therapy sessions. Generally, the cost of these treatments includes all of the sessions as a package.
Even though Lipedema is a severe problem, the health insurance system doesn't cover Lipedema treatment because it considers it aesthetic. Most health insurance companies don't pay for aesthetic treatments.
The table below shows the price range of Lipoedema surgeries and liposuction procedures in different countries. Most of the prices are without VAT, whereas the amounts given for Turkey are VAT included.
Since the health system considers Lipedema treatments as cosmetic procedures, health insurance companies don't cover these treatments. Once the doctors determine the level of the problem, they decide on which treatment is necessary for the patient, and then they tell how much the Lipedema treatment will cost. Patients need to prepare themselves for the costs of Lipedema treatments.
Health insurance companies don't cover Lipoedema treatments.
Patients need to pay for their Lipedema treatments. They should know that the insurance policies don't include cosmetic procedures. Although it seems like a cosmetic problem, Lipedema is a health issue. Yet again, it is considered cosmetic.
If the doctors treat Lipedema via surgery, it is a one-time treatment. Other treatments like massage therapies need a couple of weeks, maybe months. After having an appointment with the clinic that will do the massage, you can have an average price per month.
The lowest price for Lipedema surgery is $5500 US. If liposuction is the treatment method that the doctor approves, then the lowest price would be $700 US.
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