by Terrye Tebbetts
Now, I will be the first one to say that just because something is MORE expensive then anything else, doesn’t necessarily mean it is better than everything else. On the other hand, most everything that is the cheaper than everything else, tends to be, well, worse than everything else.
It’s like buying a cheaper dish washing cube thing thinking it will save a couple of bucks but every time you use it, there is still crap all over the dishes and you have to do it again so now you have used twice as much soap and they still aren’t clean!!
When choosing a physician to help with heart disease, diabetes or cancer, do we look for the cheapest, or the best – the most experienced, the one that has published the most about the condition you have, the one that has made the most scientific advances to improve the treatment of what you have??? We seek the best – no question.
So why is it when it comes to having breast augmentation, patients tend to look for the best deal instead of the best surgeon? Is it because getting breast implants is totally elective? Do patients feel guilty because choosing to have this surgery is just that, a choice? No one NEEDS breast implants, they WANT them because they cannot change their breasts any other way than to have surgery.
Once the decision has been made to have breast augmentation surgery, you owe it to yourself and your family to go to the best surgeon – not to get the cheapest deal. The average surgeon fee can range between $3000.00 – $5500.00 across the United States.
There are surgeons in Oklahoma and across the border in Mexico, who charge $3000.00 total for the entire operation – not just the surgeon fee! So when you see this “deal” – it should raise some pretty big red flags!
The surgeon’s skills and level of experience should effect the fee that they charge. However, they should be able to back up their fee with data and experience. In other words, the patient should be able to ask why the surgeon’s fee is $X. In Dr. Tebbetts’ case, our surgeon fee is backed up by countless peer reviewed and published scientific articles and books advancing and redefining the level of breast augmentation and breast augmentation recovery. Our surgeon fee is backed by published reoperation rates of less than 3%.
Our fee is backed by documented experience in the specialty of breast augmentation. Our fee is backed by our improved 24 Hour Recovery procedures in breast augmentation that allow patients to reduce down time to one day – which means costs savings to the patient in the long run (ie not having to fly Grandmother in to take car of the kids, or hire a sitter for a week or miss work for a week and hubby doesn’t have to miss work for several days to care for you – down time to you is a cost!)
When you see a plastic surgeon for breast augmentation, you have to ask for the same type of back up of their fee. How many articles has the surgeon published on breast implants? This will show his or her level of research and specializing in breast augmentation surgery. How many breast augmentations does the surgeon do every year? How many of those patients require reoperation and why? What is the recovery time produced by the surgeon’s skill in the operating room?
A surgeon fee shouldn’t be more just because he or she lives in NYC or LA. A surgeon fee shouldn’t be more just because he or she “thinks” it should be. A fee that is more should give you more – -added value – a better outcome – a better result – a better recovery with fewer risks. Paying more for your surgeon fee should add value to your total experience – reducing your overall costs in the long run.
Paying less, going the cheaper route, is likely to put you in the hands of a very inexperienced surgeon or one that would rather charge less but do more surgeries – putting in the midst of the masses with very little focus on quality surgery and quality results. Paying less in the beginning puts you at higher risk of paying more in the end. More reoperations, more down time, more expense both in emotions and money.
If you decide to have breast augmentation surgery and change your body forever, please, please remember – this is not the time to bargain shop. Educate yourself about the risks and options and advances in breast augmentation and breast augmentation recovery. Do thorough consults with at least 3 board certified plastic surgeons and know without a doubt why they charge what they charge. In the end, you do get what you pay for – - be ever wise when choosing a surgeon. The quality of your result starts and ends with your surgeon.
About the Author: Terrye Tebbetts is one of the most knowledgeable women in the world about breast implants, with 27 years of experience educating patients and 11 years as a patient herself. For more information about breast implants or breast augmentation Dallas surgeons, please visit www.thebestbreast.com.