Those rates aren’t set by the doctor - they’re determined by your insurance plan. Usually, the copay is slightly higher for a specialist. Keep in mind, your insurance company sets the rate for your copay, deductible, and each specific treatment. So, if you’re having a wart frozen, you’ll pay for cryotherapy. First, you pay your copay - the payment for the doctor to see you, evaluate your condition, and make a diagnosis. They may pay for 80% of the bill, and you pay the remaining 20%. Then, after you have paid $1,000, your insurance will start paying for most of your costs. You’ll pay all expenses up to that amount. That’s the amount you pay before your insurance starts paying. Here’s how procedures work with most insurance companies. That means there’s a charge for cryotherapy outside of your office visit copay that counts towards your deductible. But that’s not the kind of cryotherapy we do.Ĭryotherapy at our office is considered a procedure in insurance terms. These treatments can help with a variety of muscle ailments as patients stand in a tank filled with liquid nitrogen vapor. You’ve probably heard about cryotherapy for athletes. It’s a procedure well recognized in medicine as an effective tool to treat many different issues, not just skin conditions. “Cryotherapy” is the technical name for any freezing treatment. Someone unfamiliar with using a freezing instrument probably won’t deliver enough damage to the tissue to remove the spot, or they’ll use too much and cause extensive damage.Īre Freezing Treatments Covered by Insurance? When you pay for your dermatologist to freeze a trouble spot, you get an educated professional using the right tool and the right amount of destruction to remove the spot effectively. But, in untrained hands, damage from this product can quickly become extensive. Dermatologists are trained to use liquid nitrogen as a tool in effectively removing spots. To remove these blemishes, we’re creating a superficial frostbite. With a dermatologist, you get expertise and a more effective product to treat your spots. Why You Should See A Dermatologist For Wart Removal But that also means people have to be very careful with the product. Essentially, it damages the spot quickly and severely so we can remove it. Since it’s 320 degrees below zero, it freezes the skin rapidly at a much deeper level than butane. The dermatologist uses liquid nitrogen, either spraying it on or dropping it on with a Q-tip. Freezing Warts at the Dermatologist’s Office So, in the hands of most people, butane spray doesn’t effectively remove warts. That means they have to spray the butane longer, which really hurts. Yes, that’s extremely cold, but it’s not cold enough to freeze deeply. Usually, people hold it a few inches away from the spot, so it’s about negative 50 degrees when it reaches the skin. The coldest temperature of that gas is about 100 degrees below zero. There’s a little liquid butane in the can that turns to gas as it’s sprayed. Freezing Warts at Homeįreezing at home relies on a butane spray. This is especially important for a wart, because it needs to be frozen deeply, requiring a lot of energy and a strong product to remove it effectively. Dermatologists not only tailor their approach to your spot, but they have access to a stronger freezing product. However, there’s a big difference between at-home removal and dermatologist removal. Not all spots can be frozen, but warts and seborrheic keratosis (a type of brown mole) respond well to removal by freezing. Will Freezing Remove the Spots On My Skin? Either way, before you rush to the nearest drugstore to buy a freeze spray, make sure you know what to expect. Maybe you think an over-the-counter option is good enough, or you assume the dermatologist is too expensive. If you have a spot, like a wart or a mole, that needs to be removed, you may have considered freezing it at home rather than asking your dermatologist about it. If we can do it ourselves, why would we pay someone else to do it, right?
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |