ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Canada's free medical system is refusing to pay for excess skin removal for a man in Newfoundland who lost 207 pounds, the man said.
Kevin Carter, 34, went on a weight-loss program in 2010 and has fallen to 186 pounds from 393 pounds, the Toronto Star's eastern bureau reported.
Along the way, his doctor told him he would require a procedure called a trunkplasty, to remove a large fold of excess skin that now droops from his stomach to his groin.
The provincial premier and health minister said late last year the surgery would be paid for if it were deemed medically necessary, he said.
This week, he got a letter saying it was not covered under the provincial healthcare system.
The problem is centered on the surgeon who called for the procedure, but who isn't qualified to do it. Carter checked with a Toronto surgeon and was told it would cost $15,000, the Star said.
"I can't afford that. I'm a cashier at a grocery store," Carter said, adding that the skin flap is causing infections in his navel, sealed off from circulating air.
"Every time I get an infection I'm going to go to the hospital to get it documented. I'm not giving up," he said.
