Cosmetic plastic surgery is not reimbursed by health insurance. Patients have to pay for the plastic surgeon’s fees, hospital fees and anesthesia fees out of their own pocket.

Though plastic surgery fees can be hefty in relation to other expenditures of daily existence, when compared to the lifelong changes they provide, they are reasonable; some surgeons will, of course, be off the charts, but average costs for procedures are readily available on multiple websites.

There are a number of options available these days for paying for your cosmetic surgery. All plastic surgeons and surgery centers will ask for payment before the procedure. Here are some options I provide my patients:  Financing

There are a number of options for financing plastic surgery that you can investigate.

These companies will do a credit check on you, and if you qualify under their guidelines (which vary widely between financing companies), they will extend a separate and new line of credit to you for your surgery. In this way, your regular credit card is not affected and your credit limit is maintained. Some companies will provide for six-month no-interest loans, which can be attractive.

These companies will always take a percentage fee from your surgeon based on the amount financed as well as charging you interest in some cases.
I provide these options for my patients, but if they finance with such companies, I cannot extend them any other fee reductions, as the financing company is already getting your reduction!

A number of plastic surgeons, such as myself, also allow patients to pay for their surgery using a “lay away” plan.

Cosmetic patients in effect use the plastic surgeon’s office as a savings account.  They pay toward their surgery in small amounts whenever they can, and we keep the tally for them. When the fees have all been paid, the surgery is scheduled.

No matter what type of financing you use, make sure you have a small reserve set aside for rare unforeseen circumstances, such as complications that may require more expenditure on your part.

Also, any plastic surgeon will give you an estimate of the time it will take to complete a procedure. Sometimes the cosmetic surgery procedure takes more time and you may be responsible for more anesthesia and surgery center fees than you were originally quoted when discussing your cosmetic surgery financing options.