The Real Cost Of Cosmetic Surgery

T he field of cosmetic surgery has some pretty slick advertising and salespeople. This should come as a surprise to no-one except the most naive. However, what that means to the customer is that very frequently the real cost of the treatment is misrepresented. A surgical procedure that is promoted as being a certain price can often turn out to have untold hidden costs. Time and time again people listen to the sales pitch, and only when it feels too late to back out do they find out about the "extras".

This is most particularly the case when the prospective patient is trying to find the more affordable options. Each practitioner vies to quote the most attractive price, and so as to seemingly undercut each other’s prices, the quotation very often includes only the cosmetic surgery itself.

This practice, while misleading, is quite legal. It is similar to what the budget airlines do, where you are charged extra fees for online check-in, purchasing with a credit card, baggage allowance and tax.

So what are the "extras" that will make up the real cost of your cosmetic surgery?

Don’t be deceived, these are not "optional" extras, they are all essential, and fairly expensive. The first item that a cosmetic surgeon may have left off your quote is the anaesthetist fee. This is obviously a necessity, and is quite a heavy charge, as the procedure in itself is quite specialised.

Another of these added expenses is often the hospital fees. Your quote was just for the surgery? Then there’s a good chance you may have to stump up the cash for the usage of the cosmetic clinic.

If the surgery is likely to require an overnight stay at the clinic, then you should make sure that this is factored into the cost for your cosmetic surgery. And if it is not, then what if there are any complication, that require you to stay in the clinic for observation.

It is not unheard-of for the patient to receive a bill for even minor items, such as the surgical vest!

Probably most importantly, will you need to pay more if something goes wrong, and remedial surgery is required? Many surgeons do not automatically include any revision work in their bills, so you could be in for a nasty shock if your breast implant needs to be removed.

All of these need to be added up, to do an effective cost comparison between different quotes for cosmetic surgery. What seems the cheapest option is often not the cheapest option at all. Always view cosmetic surgery costs with a healthy dose of sceptism, and you will not go far wrong!