Sorry. We had PHI, so not much help there. DS was the same. He developed Apnoea to the point that I co slept until the surgery as I was so worried.
I am not sure how much it would be full cost. You would need to discuss with surgeon.
You would be looking at surgeon, and possible surgeon assistant fee, anesthetist fee, and hospital fee, as you would most likely need to stay overnight
Surely if they thought t that bad, they would bump you to an urgent status for public?!
I'm so glad you posted this as DS (4) is going to have his out soon too.
I don't think is as obstructive as your DS but he will have genetic predisposition for sleep apnea so it is another recommendation for why we are going ahead.
His sleep, snoring and mouth breathing is getting worse and he also suffers from horrendous bad breath which is believed to be caused by constant infection, colds, etc.
We saw a surgeon for a private consult (as per GP referral for enlarged adenoids) and the consult was $150 ($70 rebatable by Medicare).
We were told the surgeon's gap fee was $280 - I think that means $280 to pay the surgeon, without rebates from PHI. Im not sure now with all these other posts I am totally confused!
Last edited by The[cookie]Doctor; April 21st, 2012 at 08:31 AM.
A friend had a quote to get it done privately as she did not have PHI either. She was quoted $4000 there abouts.
Another GF had her grandson done publicly and as he was put as a high category he was operated on very quickly. So check with your GP on the category system and the public hospital for waiting times.
She has noticed a huge improvement in all aspects of sleeping ans speech. She also said while they were on the waiting list it was nerve racking but OK as they knew it would be Ok in the end.
I'd say around the $4k mark too, the biggest expense is the overnight hospital stay,
I'll see how much DD's ops cost (PHI) but ours was just adenoids and grommets and no overnight stay.
I had an op last year with overnight stay and all up it was around $6k, we have PHI
Just adding that in case you were not aware, you can claim out of pocket eligible (this would be classed as eligible) medical expenses on tax. Once you hit $2000 out of pocket expenses, you can then claim 20c in the dollar after that of out of pocket medical expenses. I think this is the right amounts. You can go to the ATO website and get a better idea.
This would mean all out of pocket medical expenses for all the family once you hit the threshold.
My DS4 is due to have his out very soon but also get grommets put in and have biopsies taken on his infected nodes. I am not looking forward to it.
His has an aponea too, is a mouth breather, is very skinny and goes down very fast each time he gets sick. All his nasal,ear passages are blocked and narrowed because nothing can drain away due to his massive tonsils and adenoids - hence the enlarged and infected lymph nodes he has in his neck.
I am worried for him because although he has a very high pain threshold, history has told him not eating or drinking means it doesnt hurt but it also means he prolongs his recovery.
I wonder if they will set him up with an icecream IV
On Saturday night, DS woke up coughing so much he chucked up a few times, then proceeded to choke and go blue! he recovered pretty well, we sat up watching him sleep and trying to get him in a stable breathing position.
Sunday morning he was his usual self, the at about midday he spiked a fever and was just flat.
Knowing he had a pretty limited air way as it was, him getting sick was not what I wanted!! DP and I took him straight to emergency at the FMC. due to us having been there on Thursday we were seen too pretty quickly, no one took us very seriously so I put him to sleep, man did that wake them up!
we were admitted to the paed ward almost straight away (well..after they put an IV line in (oh my god did that suck! but I think I was more upset than J was) then put saline, AB's and steroids thu it!)
The nurses put him on an oximeter, he was having desats every minute or so, they freaked out and moved him closer where they could keep an eye on him, then even that wasnt good enough so they had a nurse just to sit next to him to move his position and keep the oxygen wafting on his face.
We were then informed that they were not confident that they could deal with his condition, so at midnight we were transferred to the PICU at the WCH, Jacob was pretty excited, we got to ride in an ambulance!
The staff at the PICU were so fantastic, I stayed the night with DS, thinking we would be able to go home the next day, but not so.
The hardest thing about this whole thing is that he really doesnt look unwell, no one will believe he is ill! but then they see him at night, asleep, struggling for breath and his oxygen levels dropping down lower and lower, yeah then they sit up and take notice!
The next morning we were transferred to a paed ward, which is where we still are now... he basically just needs to be on oxygen to be able to breathe at night. It is so scary hearing that alarm go off and knowing my baby isnt getting enough air to braethe
The steroids have been stopped now, his tonsils have shrunk from a grade 4 (touching in 3-4 places) to now a grade 3 +, he is still on AB's and they will not operate until all infection is cleared up (theyre saying around 4 weeks)
Tonight we have an oximetry study happening to gauge exactly how much his oxygen needs are, the docs are now saying that best case scenario we will go home on Monday with oxygen for him to use at home until the surgery.
I am so tired, so freaked out, so worried...we are in the best place for him now, but it is very hard with him being an active 3 yo during the day..will be back to update later
Registered User
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks