Get Plastic Surgery at a Lower Cost by a Resident at a University?

The learning curve on rhinoplasty is very gradual and it easily takes 10+ years to reach a level of mastery to produce consistently good results.  I would rank rhinoplasty as the LAST cosmetic procedure you would want to have done by a resident

Rhinoplasty is one of the trickiest and least forgiving surgeries invented by man. Since the nose is small, there can be only one surgeon, and since it's the centerpiece of your face, consider having the expert do your surgery, and then continue with a year of necessary follow-up visits. Wishing you well! Dr Joseph

Because blepharoplasty is such a varied procedure, the cost also varies. Factors which contribute to the cost of eyelid surgery include:Type and extent of surgerySurgeon’s feeFacility feeAnesthesia feeMedicationFor approximate costs by University , contact the plastic surgery or eye surgery departments directly and ask for a residents clinic

Yes, it is possible to have a nose job performed by a resident surgeon who is under the watch of an attending surgeon. However, with a rhinoplasty procedure, you often get what you pay for; $1,000 is an extremely low price to be paying for such a complicated procedure and a nose job is not an area where you want to cut corners in terms of financial savings. Your nose is the most central feature of your face so, in my opinion, it may be better to seek the expertise of a more experienced, seasoned surgeon.

It is a great idea to contact a University for the cost of surgery by a resident under the guidance of an experienced plastic surgeon.  The cost can be signifincatly lower.

Yes, it is likely that cosmetic surgery can be done for significant less money at a  university affiliated teaching hospital via the "residents clinic" than a private practice Plastic Surgeon.. .At some point every plastic surgeon in training needs to practice and learn how to do all procedures both cosmetic and reconstructive. You are trading the potential risk of inexperience and therefore less predictable outcome for cost savings. On the other hand as a former tenured professor at one of the universities you mentioned, I can tell you that surgeries are usually staffed by experienced and well trained professors who oversee the work being done, so the risk vs benefit question becomes hard to make sense of. I think what I would do in your circumstance is ask the resident/fellow how many of these procedures he/she has done, and the name of the Attending Doctor/Professor (look him up re: credentials) and ask if he will be present during the entire case. The other consideration is that the resident surgeon will graduate or otherwise move on to another facility and you may not have access to him/her for long term follow-up.

It may be possible to get cosmetic surgery at a teaching hospital by a resident at a reduced fee. Rhinoplasty is the one procedure that takes the most skill and experience, so you should consider this decision carefully.  Also, find out what the other costs involved in having the procedure will be.  Having the procedure done at a hospital can lead to a large hospital bill, potentially making the entire cost of the procedure greater than having it done in a plastic surgeon's office operating room.

 

I understand that price is always a consideration but seeking discounted rhinoplasty to me seems unwise. I think most plastic surgeons would agree that rhinoplasty is one of the most technique and skill dependent procedures that exists. With that said if you do end up getting it performed in resident clinic it would be important to know how much experience the supervising physician has and exactly what role they will play.

not sure if it is possible but 1000 seems low even for a resident clinic

 

Yes, it is possible to receive savings by utililizing a resident through an university affiliated teaching hospital. However, rhinoplasty is complex procedure that a surgeon will gain better results with experience. Rhinoplasty has the potential for many complications, and is difficult to revise. Therefore, it is best to choose an experienced and expert surgeon for rhinoplasty. The risk is not worth the minor savings that you might recieve.  

Rhinoplasty can certainly be performed at a university with a plastic surgery residency training program.  Residents will be supervised by an experienced professor in almost every case.  I would not expect that any university would be able to perform the procedure for under $1000, and your fees may also include not only the surgeon's fee, but also fees for the anesthesiologist and fee for the time in the operating room.  Some of the most accomplished rhinoplasty surgeons in the country operate in university settings with plastic surgery residency training programs, and most procedures performed by these professors would also incorporate some portion of the procedure being performed by residents, in accordance with their training and skill level.

All the best,

Dr. Skourtis