What does explant surgery cost? Good question. I just updated the costs page on our website, but wanted to discuss explant in particular here.
I am sure that for a lot of patients researching surgery, this is one of the things they search for the most but struggle to find answers to.
Most plastic surgeons' websites will have some waffle about how the price of surgery depends on what needs to be done and the surgeon's training and experience and the complexity of surgery and blah blah blah without ever simply listing a price. I find that hard to understand. It's like they're embarrassed about clearly listing costs...either that, or they are being shifty because they'd rather rope you in first and then reveal the price once they feel like you've already committed to having surgery.
The reality is that cost is part of the equation for every patient which determines whether they can - or want to - proceed with an operation.
From day 1, we have listed our prices on our website, with both my fee and the total fee clearly outlined.
Anyway, back to the question at hand.
Explant surgery does have a variable cost based on what is done, and at which hospital it is done. But we can figure out what you need, and therefore exactly how much it will cost.
Like all operations, there are three cost components to consider: surgeon, anaesthetist, hospital.
Depending on whether you have private insurance, there may be partial coverage for some of these components.
The fee I set does takes into account what I have to do, how hard it is, whether I am doing something that other surgeons don't, how long it takes me, and the degree of predictability in the surgery. Explant can be tricky, it can involve various distinct components (like muscle repair, or the addition of a mastopexy or fat transfer), and is one of the things I guess I specialise in these days and I think it sets us apart from other plastic surgeons, so that is all factored in.
One thing I am very clear about with my patients: I will always ensure that you know exactly what will happen in surgery, before you ever get into the operating theatre. Your quotes will reflect that. The idea that you could get into an operating theatre and there could be a situation where the surgeon "figures out" what they have to do on the day, and then sends you a bill retrospectively, is absolutely bizarre, and yet I hear stories like that all the time in my revision work.
I will tell you what I will do. I will tell you what that costs. And then I will do what I said. If something unexpected crops up and I have to work a little harder, well that is my problem, not yours. Pretty simple.
Anaesthetic and Hospital costs are largely time-based - longer operation, higher cost. There are other things to consider, but that is the easiest way to think about it. Therefore it is my responsibility to ensure that he hospital and the anaesthetist know what I am doing and how long it will take. We can't fudge our time estimates to make your quote cheaper.
So, for an appropriately insured patient, expected total out-of-pocket costs (bear in mind I am averaging a range of anaesthetic and hospital fees here because those are things out of my control and when we request quotes from those parties for you, they can vary) look like this:
Anyone with insurance considering explant surgery should contact their insurance company and see if they are covered for item number 45551, which is the item number for explant procedures.
For an uninsured ("self-funded") patient:
I hope that makes sense.
Yes, ultimately these are only guides (because I don't control every aspect of this process), but we think it is the least we can do for our patients to ensure you don't waste your time making an appointment with me if the costs are not acceptable to you at the outset.
Oh, and obviously we are always very happy to provide an indication of costs to any patient who is making an initial inquiry. You don't have to have an appointment with me just to get a quote. Please do take our quotes and go and compare them to those you might have from other surgeons.
Hooray for transparency right?
Have a lovely day.