Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with excision

List of Medicare rates?

twiggy32 — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 11:01:54 -0800

Where do I get a list of Medicare payment rates for surgical procedures? I am currently involved in an insurance appeal over a robotic excision of a tumor in my pelvis. My insurance company only wants to pay a small fraction of the cost of the surgery, saying that since I was out of network, they only have to pay Medicare rates for the surgery. It would be helpful in my appeal if I could find a list of Medicare rates for various surgeries, and see if Medicare even has rates for robotic excision. Can anyone point me in the direction of a list of rates? Google hasn't provided any results that tell me what I need to know.

Should my young sister get a LEEP or wait and see?

rmless — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 15:45:21 -0800

GirlpartsFilter: Please help my sister decide if LEEP is the right option. Her doctor gave her the choice and she has reservations. My sister is 23. She had an abnormal pap (her first abnormal ever) and went in for a colposcopy. She has a high grade abnormality. Her doctor said that she could wait and come in for another check up in 3 months, by which point it might clear up, or she could have a LEEP done.

The doctor mentioned that if the abnormality recurs and she has to get another LEEP, she could be infertile. From what the Dr. said (and my research verifies), she most likely will not need another LEEP later on. But there is a possibility. (From everything I've seen, it looks like one procedure is fine and doesn't do too much to fertility, but two and you might not have enough cervix left to retain the pregnancy. Please correct if I am wrong.)

She has no children but eventually would like some and is worried about risking her 1 out of 2 shots at the LEEP when she is still so young.

Further complicating the situation is that while she is home in Boston now, she is supposed to be doing a fellowship in the republic of Georgia and will go back there between appointments. She saw a doctor there and had a terrible experience,which is why she is home with a doctor she trusts.
I am worried about her waiting and being nervous and alone in Georgia for three months, so I would like to advise her to get the LEEP done now. However, she does have very valid concerns about her fertility, and if the doctor thinks it is ok to wait and see, she might want to let it try and clear up on its own.

Please give any advice, anecdotes, statistics about recurrence (of high grade abnormalities or of the need for a second LEEP), or information that might help her make a decision or help me talk her through it.

I have seen the these threads (12597 and 38963).

Splinter Removal

jonah — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 08:59:42 -0800

Splinter removal. I got a gnarly splinter last night walking past a light pole, it's very deep and I can't seem to get it out. I soaked my hand, which I found out was wrong because it expands the wood, I tried grabbing it with tweezers, but it's too deep. I tried google, but could only find a few suggestions, any tried and true methods of getting out a DEEP (and painful) splinter?