Cheapest Cosmetic Surgery?

Why shouldn't I shop for the best price for my face lift or my nose job?

I'm not saying that one shouldn't shop for quote, "the best price", but the question is, "Is there a correlation between price and quality?" Let's say that you've determined that the practitioner is quite good because your friend had surgery and your cousin had surgery and his fee is less than someone else's; hey it's a no-brainer. But the question is if the work is very good in a doctor who charges more than another doctor, and how much is the difference, and can you quantitate a better practice on the base of cost?

Let me tell you, it's difficult. Sometimes, there's no rhyme or reason. Some practices are very expensive and yet wouldn't be my pick for practice of the week. And there are others who are really surprisingly very economical.

Now, I can tell you why some practices can be very good at what they do and yet not be the high priced leader. It doesn't mean they are the Walmarts, they are not the low priced leader. But the reason is they are very efficient.

For example, a surgeon can take an hour to do the same nose job that another takes 3 to 4 hours. Now the doctor that takes 3 – 4 hours has to charge more for his time. That's all he's selling. So you're getting probably an inferior service, because if he's a 3 or 4 hour nose job surgeon, he's probably not as skilled as the one hour. He just doesn't have the facility, he doesn't have the experience, doesn't have the efficiency built in, because the operation still has X number of steps.

So I would say that the surgeon that is less experienced, and you should be able to glean that by asking how long have you been doing, how many cases, or what percentage of your practice are noses and he's charging more, that doesn't make sense. It doesn't pay to pay more for an amateur. It may pay to pay a little more for the master. And by the way, the difference in cost isn't going to be a factor of two or three. It could be 10% or 15%.