The cost of breast reconstruction depends and includes the surgeon’s fee, hospital and surgical facility costs, anesthesia cost, medication, medical tests, expander and implant costs and x rays. It could be anything from $ 10,000 to $ 25,000 depending on these and other factors. However when choosing a plastic surgeon for the breast reconstruction, the surgeon’s experience and the patient’s comfort and faith in the doctor are as important as the cost of the surgery. More experienced and Board certified surgeons will have higher fee structure. So also the hospital and the surgical facilities. In plastic surgery, generally, higher the charges and the cost of the surgery, better it is and more reliable.
The cost of the reconstruction of a breast is higher than normal reconstructive surgeries as this is a long procedure taking several months for the final result. It involves weekly visits to the hospital over a period of at least six months to a year before the final verdict is given. There will be several visits to the hospital, several consultation charges, appointments, procedures and the like. After the first tissue expander is put in place, there have to be visits every week as the liquid is inserted into the tissue expander, which helps grow more skin through this method. And when the skin has expanded to the desired height, the final implant has to be inserted through surgery. The cost of the implant will also be included in the cost of the whole procedure. Silica gel implant may be more expensive than saline implant. If flap surgery is considered or the TRAM procedure, then these involve more surgical procedures as tissues from other parts of the body have to be removed and inserted in the breast area. More surgeries means more costs.
Also sometimes there are set backs. The implant may break or spring a leak, in which case it has to be put in again and the whole process begins all over again. Or if the patient has any other infection or if the wound has not healed properly, the next step will be delayed. As more time passes the cost goes up. Besides the time and labor involved in this procedure, there are also the variable considerations like the availability of the doctor and the possibility of the patient (if she is working) to go to the hospital at every given appointment. Breast reconstruction after breast cancer is considered a reconstructive procedure and should be covered by health insurance |
