Filing Down a Dorsal Hump During Sinus Surgery - Cost?

Question

I went in recently for my nose and ear issues. They found some pretty severe swelling around my nose because of my sinus's. in fact, i have blown out my ear drum. i have a hole covering a quarter of it. the Dr said either, 1) life on a nasal spray (which i have been doing and has helped) or 2) have surgery to remove the lower third of my sinus walls. I am considering surgery, but want my dorsal hump filed down too. Is this possible during sinus surgery? what would cost be since im already in?

William Portuese, MD · Answer

Sinus surgery and rhinoplasty can be performed at the same time, but they  are 2 completely separate operations.  The sinus surgery is billed to the patients medical insurance once medical necessity has been documented, while the patient must pay for the cosmetic rhinoplasty.  For more information about both procedures, diagrams and our  rhinoplasty photo gallery, please see the link below.

Carlo Honrado, MD, FACS · Answer

Sinus surgery combined with a cosmetic nose procedure is very common in my practice. However, my colleague who specializes in sinus surgery performs the sinus portion first and then I perform the cosmetic part. This allows me to solely focus on the aesthetics of the nose. At the surgical center where we operate, it makes sense financially to perform a functional procedure (the sinus) in conjunction with an aesthetic procedure (the rhinoplasty) as the surgical center fees are slightly less than if you were to perform the procedures separately since insurance does not cover cosmetic procedures but does cover functional procedures. This of course will depend on your insurance and deductibles, etc. 

	As for the cost of just reducing the hump, this will depend on where you are and what else may need to be performed aside from just straightening the dorsum (top) part of your nose.

	Best,

	Dr. H

Ramtin Kassir, MD, FACS · Answer

The cost of the cosmetic portion varies according to what's being done, and insurance may cover the functional (sinus) portion depending on the rules of your contract and deductibles, copays, etc.

Mohsen Tavoussi, MD, DO · Answer

It is possible to have rhinoplasty and hump removal during sinus surgery. I might add that hump removal by itself will lead to what is called an open roof deformity which require lateral osteotomy to fix. Therefore, you will have to have these two procedures done together. The cost depends on the surgeon and operating room charges.

Joseph Campanelli, MD · Answer

While the two procedures can be combined, I would recommend that you make sure that your surgeon is proficient in both.  The skills necessary to do sinus surgery are not the same as those to do rhinoplasty. 

	When a cosmetic procedure is combined with a functional procedure, generally the cost is significantly less for the aesthetic procedure than if it was done alone.  If all you wanted was filing down of the hump, then the additional cost should be around $1000.  If it were done without combining, the cost would be around $2500.

Filing Down a Dorsal Hump During Sinus Surgery - Cost?

Answers (5)