Do Most Surgeons Charge a Consultation Fee for Breast Augmentation?

Prior to the 2008 economic downturn, most board certified plastic surgeons charged for cosmetic consultations. After 2008, Plastic Surgeons became one of the few specialites where some of its members did not to charge for their time at the initial consultation or else simply applied it  to the surgeon's fee. The reason is that during the economic downturn a tremendous amount of non-board certified plastic surgeons doing cosmetic surgery did not charge so that the public was directed towards less trained individuals. This circumstance continues to day. Our office presently does not charge for  the first cosmetic consultation but we still charge for reconstruction consultations.

Many surgeon's charge a consultation fee. The consultation fee for a breast augmentation at my office is $75.  That fee is applied toward the cost of surgery when you sign up for a procedure. So, you don't lose the money. If you don't sign up for surgery, then you paid for the surgeon's time.

The rationale for this is twofold. One, if you are serious about having the surgery, then you won' t mind paying the consultation fee to have all of your question answered, knowing that the surgeon is spending time with you answering all of your questions and preparing a plan that is right for you. You and your surgeon together are individualizing the plan that it is right for you.

The second reason is that it greatly decreases the number of short visits and eliminates visits from people who aren't really serious about their consultation. In this way, the surgeon now has more time to spend with his or her patients who want their surgeon to spend a lot of individual time with them and who are serious about having surgery.

The price of the consultation should not be the number one reason for picking a surgeon. Make sure that your plastic surgeon is board-certifed by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

You may also want to check with your state medical board to see if your doctor is in good standing. I hope this helps.

At our office, we don't charge consultation fees, except when a legal opinion is being rendered.

Each office has their own policy.  Many offices will apply your consultation fee to the cost of surgery, but, of course, that makes it more difficult to "shop around" and compare.

We try to avoid putting any "roadblocks" in the way of our patients - so our consultation is complementary.

In general, most of the surgeons who are in demand charge consultation fees.  Often these fees are applied toward the cost of surgery.  The surgeons who do charge for a consultation tend to spend a lot of time with their patients giving them detailed information on the surgery and answering all their questions and carefully planning their surgery with the patient.  Often, surgeons who do not charge consultation fees may not be seeing the patient during the consult, rather an assistant see a high volume of patients for the consult, and patients that elect to have surgery are then only seen by the surgeon in their pre-op appointment.Best wishes,Pablo Prichard, MD

Each office has a different policy on consultation.  We offer a free, private consultation for our cosmetic surgery patients.

I mean that as a compliment.....some Plastic Surgeons consider the consultation an evaluation and recommendations session.  So, just like your attorney, whether you take their advice or not, you pay for their opinion and their time.  Perfectly appropriate and totally professional.

Your question was about cost, so I would have to agree with others in that you should expect to pay what plastic surgeons in your area are charging.  Unless you are not going to a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, you can expect that they will be held to some standard regarding their fees by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and usually also the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Again, as always, you should first focus on finding a quality Plastic Surgeon who you can trust and assume that the fees will reflect the value of the services rendered.

I have struggled with this question for the duration of my private practice, 27 years.  On the one hand, I want patients to value my time and do not provide a free 5 second consultation because I've elected not to charge for it.  I spent a lot of time with all my patients and it takes more time to explain why not to operate than to explain a procedure in many instances. However, I see plenty of patients who are not good candidates for surgery either based on the procedure they want to have, which would not be appropriate for them, for medical reasons precluding clearance for surgery, or who request consultations for one thing but really have used the wrong jargon and need another.  Frankly, patients really resent paying money to be told why they can't have surgery and I tell people this every week.  Patients who are status post heart attack or stroke or who are on blood thinners or Accutane are not surgical candidates.  Their issues may not be amenable to non-invasive treatment. I prefer to build good will than to make an issue about $100.   So, am I providing "free" education?  Sure, but educating patients about plastic surgery is a public service.  Plastic surgeons don't make their money on consultations but in the operating room.  Patients who don't undergo surgery can refer as many or more friends and family members to me---and they do, all the time. 

Our office does charge a consultation fee (this fee does go toward your procedure so you are not losing it if you decide to have surgery) and that allows our office to set aside more time for the patient and I to discuss their goals.  This way, I can spend more time with the patient myself as opposed to having nurse or physician assistant involvement.

This varies depending on the surgeon.  At this time I do not charge a consultation fee.  If one is charged it is usually deducted from the cost of the surgical procedure.

I charge a consultation fee to make sure I have the time dedicated to the patient and the patient shows up for the consultation.  I do all of the consultations myself so I do not want to have wasted time.  The consultation fee is applied to the cost of surgery.  Almost all patients that do a consult will schedule the surgery.

Best Wishes

Dr. Peterson