“Demystifying Cosmetic Surgery: Factors Influencing Pricing And Making Informed Choices”

The beef in that rhetorical question made deliberately evident by the intentionally halfhearted jest; or a straight forward malignant grouse… “that hospital ripped me off completely”. These are probably the more hurtful instances I come across when people known and unknown express their resentment over cosmetic surgeons’ fees. So let me give a perspective on how cosmetic surgeons charge. By extension, this applies to almost all doctors.

The first thing to understand is that cosmetic surgeons are professionals and hence entitled to put their own value on their cosmetic surgery services, it is for their patients to decide whether they would want to avail of the cosmetic surgeries at that cost. Of course it’s only fair that the doctor reveals the range of fees that the patient might have to pay, before the treatment ensues admittedly there is a huge variation in the cost of a cosmetic surgery from doctor to doctor, and it would be difficult to ascertain all the reasons for this variation. It largely depends on the perception of the cosmetic surgeon towards the procedure that he is going to perform having said that, there are certain broad principles which will impact the price of the cosmetic surgery that is quoted to you and I’ll point out most of these the definitive thing which determines the cost of the cosmetic surgery is the complexity and the duration of the procedure itself. So the more time consuming the procedure, its bound to cost more. and the more complex it is, in terms of skill and experience required, the risks that the cosmetic surgeon has to navigate, more the cost. e.g. a facelift or a rhinoplasty will cost more than a liposuction or a breast augmentation, even if time taken is the same. So these are things that one cannot change. well, what about the those that are variable? 

I will divide these into two broad groups: surgeon factors and patient factors. Let’s go to the surgeon factors first the most important thing here is the experience of the cosmetic surgeon; the more experienced the surgeon, the more he is likely to charge you, while the junior surgeon will probably charge you less and for obvious reasons. Because he’s more needy to operate on you
the next one is probably the location; the more high profile the location, the more the cost of the cosmetic surgery. In mumbai it translates into very simple vectors. So cosmetic surgeries in the south obviously cost more than in the north and in the west, costs more than east. A simple rule of the thumb would be to go according to the cost of real estate.

A cosmetic surgeon who also owns his own operating facility is probably going to end up charging you lesser than one who operates in a separate hospital, especially a big or a corporate hospital
next, a busy surgeon is going to probably charge your more than a surgeon who does not have a busy practice. Again this is obviously because the busy surgeon is not as needy to operate on you
a cosmetic surgeon who spends a lot on resources like numerous staff, or a lot of advertising or public relations, is going to try and recover her investment, and end up charging you more

Now …We come to confession time, and this is where I tell you about yourself and what it is in you that might cost you more.
If you come across as a demanding and fussy patient, as an argumentative person, or too full of yourself… Yes it’s going to cost you. If you come across as flashy and loaded ..yes, the same. One other thing I feel is if you vibe well with the cosmetic surgeon, you will be given a fair cost. I think you get the picture.

So my advice, in case you are mindful of the cost and the finances, which the large majority of patients are and justifiably so, is as follows.
Firstly do try and take two or three opinions. Look for a cosmetic surgeon who’s quite experienced but not tooo busy, should give you time, even after the cosmetic surgery, preferably one who operates in her own facility, satisfies all your concerns. Don’t hesitate to travel a bit to find that cosmetics.