As St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated across the United States today, one can not help but think of the color of green. Green, St. Patrick’s Day and Ireland have become synonymous. History, however, shows that the true color of this day is really blue. But the wearing of a shamrock in one’s clothes has created the concept of the wearing of the green and hence the irreversible color association.

As one thinks of the ‘color of green’, one can also think of the color of money. Which brings to mind what things cost…specifically what is the cost of plastic surgery? A common question and one which can vary greatly across the country and around the world. When considering plastic surgery and its expenses, one must consider three main expenses….operating room, anesthesiologist, and the plastic surgeon. All three combined create the total surgical cost. In plastic surgery that involves implants, there will also be an additional expense for the implant.

When looking at stated or quoted fees, make sure that you are getting the total composite fee..not just the surgeon’s fee. (sometimes in ads you have to follow the accompanying asterik on the fee to figure out the real fee) As an Indianapolis plastic surgeon, I commonly get fee requests as people shop around and compare. The costs of some of the common plastic surgery procedures performed (actually the top 25) are listed on my practice website. But I will list the top five plastic surgery procedures and my fees here:

   Saline breast augmentation  $ 4,700

   Silicone Breast Augmentation  $ 5,900

   Tummy Tucks (limited and full)  $ 4,250 to $ 6,750

   Liposuction  These fees are higjly variable due to size of fat area, how many areas, and

                            type of liposuction performed 

   Facelift (limited and full) $ 4,500 to $ 7,500

   Rhinoplasty (tip and full)  $ 4, 250 to $ 5,750

While no fees can be exactly quoted and guaranteed until a patient is seen and evaluated, these fee estimates will allow one to plan accordingly.

Dr. Barry Eppley

http://www.eppleyplasticsurgery.com

http://www.ologyspa.com

Clarian North Medical Center, Carmel, Indiana

Clarian West Medical Center, Avon, Indiana

Indianapolis

In the most recent July 2008 issue of Plastic Surgery News, the top five most expensive cosmetic surgical procedures for 2007 were reported. These figures are based on the national average per plastic surgeon and represent the physician’s fee only, excluding the cost of the operating room, anesthesia, and any other related expenses.

Circumferential Body Lift $ 8,073
Tummy Tuck $ 5,264
Facelift $ 5,031
Buttock Implants $ 4,722
Buttock Lift $ 4,711

These plastic surgeon’s fees vary per region across the United States and represent an averaging of different geographic regions into a single typical fee. These numbers do not necessarily reflect a typical fee here in Indianapolis and will vary somewhat between different plastic surgeons. Operating room and anesthesia charges, which are additional, can vary dramatically based on what facility the plastic surgeon uses. As an average, you can add 30 - 35% of the plastic surgeon’s fee as the additional costs of surgery to get an estimate of the total cost of the procedure.

 
Dr. Barry Eppley
http://www.eppleyplasticsurgery.com
http://www.ologyspa.com
Clarian North Medical Center, Carmel, Indiana
Clarian West Medical Center, Avon, Indiana
Indianapolis