Recommendations for hiding/fixing this scar on my forehead?

April 3, 2023 12:44 PM

I have a scar on my forehead that has been there forever, and I'm sick of it. I always wear hats/caps to cover it up, but I'd like to get it fixed. However, because it's cosmetic, my insurance is saying it would not be covered and I'd have to pay full out-of-pocket costs to fix it. How would you recommend I move forward?

Here's an example photo of what the scar looks like.

The dematrology department is saying that it's not medically necessary; however, it's unsightly and sometimes the skin there at the scar gets dry/irritated occasionally. I get sick of people staring at it. Not sure how it came to be there, maybe I had a bad fall as a kid? There's a ridge when you put your finger on it.

Is there a way I can convince them that it's medically necessary? Failing that, any suggestions other than hats/caps to cover it up? Some kind of makeup or whatnot?

YANMD, and thanks!

posted by dubious_dude to Grab Bag (11 answers total)

I mean this in a serious way:

Sincerely ask loved ones to compliment it.

When I was a little annoyed by something about my body, I eventually shared it with my best friend. They complimented it for the next 3 months. Now I am not annoyed by it.
posted by bbqturtle at 12:59 PM on April 3, 2023

You may want to ask for a referral to a cosmetic surgeon. When I got a cyst on my face removed, the appointment with the cosmetic surgeon was the most pleasant medical interaction I've had in my adult life - their billing department was super nice and easy to work with. I don't know if this is universally true, but it makes sense, as they want satisfied customers.

In my case, I ended up paying out of pocket, because the surgeon gave me a big discount that made it cheaper than filing with insurance. However, if you need to use insurance I expect they'll be motivated to try to accommodate you.
posted by toastedcheese at 1:16 PM on April 3, 2023 [2 favorites]

Tell them that plactics is warranted for facial scars which negatively impact the sense of self and well being of the patient. They may more.readily buy into this for a woman but, "F" that. A good general surgeon could probably do this, but there is a new class of practitioners who are aestheticians who have a masters in this, and they are found inside of plastic surgery clinics. You could probably have this done easily and make payments.

Don't be intimidated by thoughts of cost, phone calls are free, and finding out the realities will help you to get this done.
posted by Oyéah at 1:21 PM on April 3, 2023 [7 favorites]

Response by poster: Not to threadsit, but forgot to mention in my original question — I'm with Kaiser, a HMO, for my insurance. That might change things in terms of coverage/referrals?

And yes, I want to get this fixed, not necessarily only for emotional reasons, but for practical reasons (less sore skin, etc.) as well.
posted by dubious_dude at 1:24 PM on April 3, 2023

You can endlessly fight with your insurance plan, or just setup a payment plan with a cosmetic surgeon - they are used to that - many barely even take insurance. Lots have a cash price too.

Get it fixed and be done with it. I had one done in 1997, and it was worth every penny - all $2k worth of them then, I guess about the equivalent of $4k today. High, but not insurmountable.
posted by The_Vegetables at 1:54 PM on April 3, 2023 [13 favorites]

For medical coverage purposes , it might work to stop thinking about this as a scar and start thinking about it as a source of physical discomfort or physical other condition requiring ongoing physical care and expense. In this case, the goal would not be to remove the scar for cosmetic reasons but to minimize or otherwise alter the physical characteristics of the scar for medical reasons.

Otherwise, other than hats, scarves, bandaids, tattoos or whatnot, the surest way to "cover up" the scar for emotional and social purposes is, as suggested above, to hide its unattractiveness (which is subjective) in plain sight by considering it one of your most attractive features and responding as such when people ask about it.
posted by desert exile at 2:32 PM on April 3, 2023 [4 favorites]

Have you just looked up/called and asked if they'll cover it, or has your doctor's office done their normal song-and-dance routine to get it covered, were refused, appealed, and were refused again? Furthermore, has your doctor identified that there is only one possible way to mitigate this scar, or are there in fact a dozen possibilities they can work through one by one with insurance?

If you've already been through all that, ask for the cash prices. You'd be surprised how much farther a dollar goes if they don't have to try to get it out of an insurance company. Especially if, with insurance taken out of the equation, your doctor suddenly comes up with a bunch of less-intrusive less-expensive options that no insurance ever pays for - like a tiny jot of filler to smooth out the dent and lasering to smooth out the skin - suddenly become available to you.
posted by Lyn Never at 3:04 PM on April 3, 2023 [3 favorites]

I'm actually wondering if injectable collagen filler would work to fill in the scar. If so, it would be a lot cheaper than surgery, and since the scar tissue isn't super mobile, the filler won't shift or degrade much over time so it would likely last many years.

I'd head to an aesthetic derm clinic and find out some potential solutions and pricing.
posted by ananci at 3:56 PM on April 3, 2023 [7 favorites]

If you haven't already, consider doing a couple consultations with local cosmetic surgery or dermatology practices to see how they would approach the scar, how much it would cost, and what types of payment plans they offer. It might be more worth your time and money to go down that route than fighting your insurance company on something they consider purely cosmetic.
posted by theotherdurassister at 3:59 PM on April 3, 2023 [5 favorites]

Pre-pandemic, Kaiser loved elective cosmetic procedures. The office near me advertised fillers and Botox regularly. It looks like some locations are still offering it but the one near me moved all those nurses to urgent care or vaccine clinics. It probably isn't covered very well by insurance but it's possible you can get a consult as a regular office visit.
posted by fiercekitten at 6:33 PM on April 3, 2023

If your doctor hasn't done the song and dance yet, you should definitely talk to them about it, or see a dermatologist. A friend recently went to a dermatologist to talk about having a mole removed and the doctor said "is this purely cosmetic or has it ever hurt you?" She said "purely cosmetic" and the doctor looked at her meaningfully and said "I SAID, has it ever HURT you." Once she caught on and said it was painful the doctor was like great that was all I needed to hear we'll have insurance cover it. I'm not prone to thinking of doctors as being on our side, but I think they may get more money for a procedure covered by insurance so it's in their interest too to find a way for it to be covered; saying the right words to the right person may do the job.
posted by babelfish at 6:32 AM on April 4, 2023 [2 favorites]