I cancelled my rhinoplasty. Will I ever get a refund?

Hi G,

If you did not have your surgery, you are entitled to a refund of the fees that you paid.  Some surgeons will refund the entire fee while others will with hold a small cancellation fee or deposit.  Read the paper work that your rhinoplasty surgeon had you sign.  Good luck and be well.

Dr. P

Dear Gottabekd,

Thank you for your question.  Each office usually has a set refund policy.  If you cancelled the day before surgery, then you probably will not recieve a refund.  If you cancelled more than two weeks ahead of surgery, then you may, depending on the policy of that office.  The reason surgeons tend to not refund if cancelled last minute, is that the spot you vacated will unlikely be able to be filled by another patient in a very short period of time, and the surgeon still is paying overhead, having his employees, rent, utilities, etc. Make sure your read policy of any surgery or and sale for that matter.

Best Wishes,

Pablo Prichard, MD

Most plastic surgery offices have a printed refund policy.  It may depend upon the amount of time prior to surgery you cancelled.  We have a very liberal policy.  We know that life goes on and that unforeseen problems can occur.  I would not think it to be completely fair to keep all of the money if the procedure was not performed.  If a patient is anxious and wants out then I have never regretted not operating on a patient. 

It depends on how far in advance you cancelled. If it was within two weeks of surgery I would say it it is unlikely you will receive a refund. In addition making a knee jerk decision based on the email is unwise. You do not know the circumstances of the other patient and it is entirely possible that things are not as she says. You should at least give the surgeon the opportunity to respond. I assume you did your research before the consult and thus went to this surgeon for a reason. I would trust my research rather than one email from a dissatisfied patient. If you go online to the review sites and look at the reviews for the top hotels you will also see some bad ones mixed in with the good ones. In fact, one of the most respected rhinoplasty surgeons in the world had a dissatisfied patient build an entire website dedicated to tarnishing his reputation. Unfortunately many patients who could have benefitted from his services over the past few years were scared away to surgeons with less experience and no doubt did not receive the outcome they could have. Also keep in mind that surgeons offices have to schedule these procedures weeks in advance and any cancellation at the last minute results in a situation where the surgeon still has to pay staff and operating fees and in some cases anesthesia fees on behalf of the patient who cancelled because there is not sufficient time to allow others to move up into your spot. Therefore a last minute cancellation results in a significant loss for the office and that is what you might be charged if it is last minute. If you return to him , most surgeons will allow you to reschedule once. However, if you do it again you might have to post the full payment nonrefundable just to get back on the schedule. On the other hand any cancellation more than two weeks out should be refunded in full. 

Every office differs with regard to their rescheduling and cancellation policies. The problem with canceling at the last minute is that there is then 1-3 hours of unused OR time. Most offices will retain a scheduling and booking fee or a portion of your surgical fee due to a last minute cancellation. Check your paperwork or call the office to get the details. There should be a financial policy that you signed at your consult or at the time of your pre-op appointment that details the office's policies. I hope this information is helpful.

Stephen Weber MD, FACS

I personally give the money back if the patient decides not to have surgery. This varies from surgeon to surgeon though.  Good luck.   Donald R. Nunn MD  Atlanta Plastic Surgeon