Why is revision breast surgery so much more expensive than the first procedure?

Revisionary surgery is more challenging and requires more expertise on the part of the surgeon and frequently more time than the initial procedure. This increases with each subsequent procedure. This is the reason why patients should seek more than one initial consultation and do their homework before they have a bad outcome to decrease their chances of obtaining a result that differs than their expectations.

Revisions of breast implant procedures that have had issues often take more time, require more experience and judgment, and may need more attention throughout the recovery process. It is a special area of expertise so it is typical for it to cost more.

Great question!  Sometimes, revision breast surgery can be more difficult, take longer, and require various surgical products/devices in order to achieve the aesthetic goals.  Therefore, the costs can rise and actually be more than the original surgery.  You may want to visit with several different plastic surgeons in order to compare techniques and costs.  
Thank you for your question!
Dr. Schreiber, Baltimore plastic surgeon

With the exception of very simple implant exchanges revision breast surgery tends to be a lot more technically challenging and takes longer which translate into higher costs. Sometimes expensive products, like alloderm, are needed to correct certain problems with and those cost more and add surgical time as well. Finally, primary breast augmentations can be relatively inexpensive because of various sales or promotions offering discounts. Revision breast surgery is much more specific to each patient so it is priced individually and generally reflects the true cost of surgery.

Revision breast surgery requires a great deal of experience. A surgeon needs to be an expert in the surgery to completely understand the types of complications that can occur.   The surgery is often more extensive and difficult because of the previous scar tissue. If the complication is severe, only limited improvement may be possible.  It is important for the patient to research her surgeon since many plastic surgeons do not routinely perform revisions of other surgeons complications.

Revision breast surgery is generally not more expensive than the initial breast augmentation. I Generally, our breast implant revision costs are less than initial breast augmentation.  In your case, there may be a level of complexity.It may warrant to consult more than 1 experienced and expert board certified plastic surgeon to understand your options and to ensure you have the best possible surgeon for your needs.

Often revision surgery is more complex and requires more work.  That might be the reason for the higher fee.

In many cases, revisionary breast surgery is significantly more involved and requires more surgeon,  anesthesia provider, and surgery facility time, compared to first-time breast augmentation surgery.  Also, sometimes revisionary breast surgery does involve the use of additional "materials" (such as acellular dermal matrix, for example),  which involves additional expenses. I hope this helps.