[MacK]

Melonie:  
Thanks.  You snatched the thoughts right out of my mind.  As the supplier of the $ I was wondering about the cost, especially for post-op saline expansion.  
--MacK

[Suzanne]

That is a great question! Of course I can only speak for our surgery practice with regard to pricing.  

When I am putting together the price quote for any patient for just about any surgery whether it be breast augmentation or liposuction the price is based on time and hard costs (supplies etc).  That is why it is difficult to give an exact quote of the phone.  When my husband comes to me after the consultation and says this is what the patient's options are and this is the time it will take to do each option.

Each procedure has three cost centers:
   
   Surgery Center (facility fee)
   Anesthesia
   Surgeon (professional fee)

The following is a breakdown how the price per cost center is determined:
   
   Surgery Center - first hour - $750.00
                    each + hour - $250.00
   Anesthesia -     first hour -  $360.00
                    each + hour - $160.00
   Surgeon -        first hour -  $2500- $3000
                    hours 2-4 -   $1000 per hour
                    hour 5 +  -   $1500 per hour
   Additional hard costs ie. implants are additional but not "keystoned" for profit.  

So here is the price breakdown for a procedure that the surgeon says will be 3 hours (facility and anesthesia are always increased by one hour to account for the preop and recovery time.)
 
  Facility fee  - $1500
  Anesthesia    - $840
  Surgeon       - $5000  
                  $7340.00  TOTAL FOR 3 HOUR PROCEDURE

A one hour procedure:

Facility - $1000
Anesthesia $520
Surgeon -  $2500-$3000
           $4020-$4520 TOTAL (not including implants etc.)

I hope this helps!  Please remember I can only speak of how I run my office.

[Suzanne]

I just wanted to add something else, it helps to keep the overall cost of each surgery down by using an implant as an expander.

Then hopefully you are only purchasing two sets of implants maybe three depending on your starting volume and end volume desired.

[Stefanie]

Thank you very much for your detailed cost breakdown.  It's nice to see a surgeon that doesn't try to hide all the numbers in endless smoke and mirrors.

You say that those figures do not include the implants themselves.  Can you give me a ballpark figure for what a pair of Inamed 67-133FV16's might cost?    

[Suzanne]

I think you might be pulling my leg with that number without having the catalog infront of me I'm not sure.  So I have to at least say I don't know of that implant product. (just in case you pulling my leg then haha!)

But I can tell you that Inamed Mentor and Silimed for the most part their prices are very close to the same.

Saline $380 - $450 per implant
Silicone gel - $$825 - $900 per implant

These are round smooth price ranges.  The companies add $ for texturing and the price goes up if an anatomical is used.

Becker Implants from Mentor are CRAZY expensive $4000 a pair! (and it is not a very good implant)

Silimed is going to have a 1000cc silicone gel available in the US soon.  I was told by the CEO of Silimed sometime this summer!  The only surgeons who will be able to order it I am told are those of us who were in their silicone CORE study. The price on that implant has not been determined from what I am being told anyway.

[melonie_charm]

Quote:
You say that those figures do not include the implants themselves.  Can you give me a ballpark figure for what a pair of Inamed 67-133FV16's might cost?    

I certainly can't speak for Suzanne, but she probably didn't immediately recognize that this model model number corresponds to McGhan's highest cc rating saline expander implant (850cc nominal) with surface mounted magnetic filler valve - which can be overfilled to the 1400-1500cc ballpark and thus is a favorite choice for a 'starter' implant with BEA girls looking to 'grow into' the 2000+ cc size range eventually. Dredging through my own memory when I got a pair of these myself, I believe they were in the same price range as silicone non-adjustable implants.

Quote:
When I am putting together the price quote for any patient for just about any surgery whether it be breast augmentation or liposuction the price is based on time and hard costs (supplies etc). That is why it is difficult to give an exact quote of the phone. When my husband comes to me after the consultation and says this is what the patient's options are and this is the time it will take to do each option.

First, we really appreciate your openness in regard to your own practice.  I can certainly understand the nature of all of your 'cost centers', and the rates seem more than reasonable compared to those I have been charged by other 'specialist' plastic surgeons, anesthesiologists, and OR facilities.

However, from your comments there appears to be a difference with your own practice versus other plastic surgeons, i.e. the hourly charges versus a 'package deal'.  Take the case of the 850cc rated McGhan saline expanders just mentioned.  The plastic surgeon who put in my own McGhan 850cc expanders way back when quoted me an up-front price which covered pre-op, surgery, post-op and future saline fill-ups.

Your response on hourly pricing would tend to indicate that your practice operates quite differently, charging by the hour for the actual time spent in surgery, the actual time spent on post-op care, and the actual time spent doing fill-ups. If so then this would create a huge financial variable for the patient regarding estimated versus actual surgery time, estimated versus actual hours spent for post-op care or dealing with complications, and estimated time spent/number of saline fill-ups.

I'm not trying to say that there is anything negative regarding charging patients according to the actual amount of 'work' each individual patient requires - only that this is quite different than the 'package deal' other plastic surgeons typically quote in advance of the surgery. However, if not understood in advance, this difference could result in some nasty economic 'surprises' in regard to girls who develop complications during or after surgery, girls whose breast tissue characteristics results in an arduous expansion process involving many small fill-ups etc. which require more 'work' than originally anticipated.  On the other hand, girls who have an 'easy' time of it would wind up saving money with hourly charges, versus paying a higher than necessary 'package deal' price which effectively subsidizes the actual costs of other girls who bring pre-existing problems to the operating table or who carry higher risk factors towards developing post-op complications (i.e. smoking, lifestyle, drug use etc).

Is this the case or am I interpreting your statements incorrectly ?
 

[Bambi_Blaze]

Rhiannon hon, you are not only a delightful contributor here at the BEA but a resourceful one too...thanks so much!

Welcome Suzanne, it's for sure a privilege having someone with your knowledge and insight posting here for all of us BIG boob hounds!!    I've just now sent you a PM and look forward to hearing back from you.

Dr. Baeke has performed marvelous Big boob work on our lovely Rhiannon, Keisha, and Buffie!

Hugs!
~Bambi~

[lisawilliams27]

Any doctor or wife, in this case, is here for one reason. This is to solicit business. I am ashamed that so many desperate girls are falling for this obvious sales pitch.
Let's be real, why else would she be here?
The rates are off the charts. Do your homework and compare notes.

[Stefanie]

An account registered on 05/14/05 with a single post created only 8 minutes later?  

No, you're not a sockpuppet with an axe to grind...

[Bambi_Blaze]

Quote:
An account registered on 05/14/05 with a single post created only 8 minutes later?  

No, you're not a sockpuppet with an axe to grind...

It's so fucking obvious too!

[aspiringG]

Suzanne was invited here!  I for one appreciate her input. She is a very valuable resource to those of us searching for information and advice.  She has been very honest and objective in her telephone conversations with me.  

Any other members care to offer your support?

[MacK]

I regard myself as competent to assess the crediblity of the information presented to me.  The post was unnecessay.  And rude.  

--MacK

[melonie_charm]

Quote:
The rates are off the charts. Do your homework and compare notes

I'll be honest and state that from the standpoint of a housewife seeking a pair of 350cc saline implants through the bellybutton, that the listed rates ARE off the charts.  However, in fairness to Suzanne and Dr. Bakke, we're not talking about a neighborhood surgeon who caters to housewives, who has never seen a breast implant bigger than 800cc in his entire life, and who is totally unaware of the custom huge implant world or the special problems involved in working with them or the different nature of potential huge implant complications.  In other words, if you're shopping for a Chevy feel free to haggle about prices at your local AutoMarts - but if you're shopping for a Porsche you need to look for a qualified dealer and also need to be prepared to pay a premium price for the specialized service.  Even so, according to Suzanne's rates, the actual cost of Dr. Bakke doing a one hour procedure implanting a pair of 350cc saline implants would be in the $5000-$5500 ballpark (including implant purchase), which does not seem out of line with neighborhood surgeon pricing in most major US cities.

I for one will go on record, as someone who has paid tens of thousands of dollars to huge boob 'specialists' over the years, and state that the rates Suzanne posted are in the same 'ballpark' as other 'specialists'.  As I posted earlier, my only real questions in regard to surgery costs related to the possible ramifications of using hourly charges versus 'package deal' price quotes, i.e the possibility of significant additional charges for post-op care or to deal with complications - a question to which Suzanne has not yet had the opportunity to respond.

[lisawilliams27]

I agree according to what she posted. However, that is not the fact according to the multiple times me and a friend called. We both got different prices each time for the same surgery, ranging from 6 to 12,000. I guess it pays to say the right thing when trying to promote business.It's  the old bait and switch.

[MasterDragonfly]

I wholeheartedly offer my support to Suzanne as well.  She was hesitant to join in originally, concerned that perhaps her presence here would be unwanted.  I encouraged her to take the plunge, giving her reassurances that she would be warmly welcomed.  I certainly haven't seen any other doctors or nurses with current plastic surgery experience offering comment.

Also take note of when Suzanne posts her comments.  She's no nine-to-fiver, that's for sure.  Between working with her husband at the office/surgery and the posts she makes here and the replies to e-mails at 2:30am, I'm amazed that she's able to find time to **82**.

Melonie's analogy of family sedan vs. Porsche is pretty good, too.  But I would liken it to having the choice between going to your neighbourhood art shop to pick up a copy of a print (and finding the place that has the best price/service) vs. going to an art dealer to purchase an original work.

Suzanne, pay no attention to the sock puppet.  Your input here is definitely welcomed.