Florence mother ‘furious’
Province should pay $2,000 dental bill for son’s rare condition, says mom
The good news is that Lisa Bond’s 13-year-old son Zander had successful surgery on Friday to treat a serious and rare gum disease that had ravaged the boy’s mouth.
The bad news is the Florence resident is now left with a $2,000 bill, because the province won’t cover the surgery since it was done at a private clinic, not a hospital.
“I’m so bloody furious about the situation,” said Bond. “It’s a required medical procedure that had to be done but the province is refusing to cover the cost be- cause it wasn’t done in a hospital operating room.”
Zander Bond was diagnosed with hereditary gingival fibromatosis, essentially uncontrolled growth of the gums, when he was 11 years old. Left untreated, the gums keep growing, covering teeth, affecting speech and making it difficult to chew and swallow.
His surgery on Friday removed gum growth that had completely covered half his teeth.
“He was in pain, the teeth would have rotted away without the surgery. He’s been dealing with this for a long time.”
A less serious surgery Zander underwent two years ago at New Waterford Consolidated Hospital was covered by provincial health care insurance, MSI. The gum overgrowth had covered just one tooth at the back of his mouth.
But the condition worsened, at which point the surgeon who performed the surgery referred him to Dr. Aditya Patel, the only practising periodontist in Cape Breton.
Patel, whose main practice is located in Halifax, diagnosed Zander’s condition and performed the three-hour surgery on Friday.
Bond said on two occasions Patel had written the Nova Scotia Health Authority, once in October and again on Nov. 14, demonstrating the procedure was necessary and urging the cost of the surgery be covered.
“We were shocked to find out … that (MSI) wouldn’t do it. We thought it was a given.
“Our Health Minister Randy Delorey should wake up and revamp our health-care system. This is just one example of the poor state of our health-care system. Parents shouldn’t have to worry about this. How many people are in the same situation?”
Health Department spokes- person Tracy Barron said that while the province only covers medically necessary surgeries at hospitals, she urged Bond to contact the department to see what could be done to help her.
But Bond said the help she needs is obvious.
“Make the system so that people can get access to the health-care services they require. Dr. Patel has been awesome with my son and my son trusts him. Why make us look elsewhere?”
Bond also said the health authority never offered alternatives where the cost of the surgery would be covered.
Barron was unable to say if or how many surgeons are capable of performing the advanced surgery the teenager required.
Eddie Orrell, Northside-Westmount MLA, has been lobbying on Bond’s behalf, urging the province to cover the cost of the surgery. He said the province’s refusal to give in illustrates a broader problem of a mismanaged health-care system.
“It makes no sense,” said Orrell. “If she has a doctor willing to do what is required medical treatment, why not do it? It’s crazy to think that you’re going to put children through this and haul them into a hospital when it can be done in a doctor’s office.”