Surgical Costs

Money is always an ugly subject, and few things in life infuriate us (in the USA, anyway) than forking over huge chunks of our hard earned cash to insurance companies, who then barely cover our needs.The costs discussed on this page are primarily for US patients. We do have a running forums thread where patients have been listing out the costs over the years.

What is in the costs?

The average costs for surgery depend on the type of procedure you are having, where you live, what kind of coverage you have (if any). Keep in mind that you can usually negotiate a discount in fees if you are paying in cash or credit card. See "How to Haggle with your Doctor" for tips.

Lancings: range from $100 to $400
Conservative Treatments: range from $500 to $2,000
Excision Treatments: range from $3,000 to $6,000
Flap Surgeries: range from $10,000 to $30,000

Keep in mind that these are ranges, your state could be much higher or lower. Hospital costs also vary a great deal, not to mention that billing errors are frequent. If the costs seem completely out of line, call your insurer. They don't want to pay outrageous costs any more than you do.

The primary costs for surgeries are:

1) Surgeon's Fee - just ask and they will tell you. The surgeon fee usually covers the cost for the surgeon to perform the surgery and the post surgery visits while you are healing. In the world of US medical billing, there are 6 general codes that determine billing for a surgeon, called CPT codes. These are set up by the AMA.
11770 Simple Pilonidal Excision
11771 Extensive Pilonidal Excision
11772 Complex Pilonidal Excision
14301 Cleft Lift (Adjacent tissue transfer or rearrangement)
10080 Simple Lancing (incision & drainage)
10081 Complex Lancing (incision & drainage)
The AMA website will give you basic ranges (for US patients) of what average surgeon fees might be in your area for these coded procedures. Remember, the surgeon cost is only one of three costs that go into your surgery. (use Pilonidal as your search keyword)
https://catalog.ama-assn.org/Catalog/cpt/cpt_search.jsp

2) Anesthesiologist Fee - the surgeon's office will be able to tell you what it will be.
3) Surgical Center Fee - your surgeon's office should also be able to give you a good idea, or talk to the administration offices of the surgical center. The hospital or surgical center costs are where the big numbers will come in to play. The surgeon and anesthesiologist fees are straightforward; the creative accounting starts to happen at the hospital. If you are paying cash and watching the pennies - this is where you want to focus on. The more up front work you do in asking about costs and demanding information, the less of a surprise the bill will be afterward. Start your fight to control costs BEFORE your surgery.

This page last updated: 11/06/2010

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What is in the costs?

The primary costs for surgeries are:

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