Ask Dr. LeRoy: What Makes a Band Aid Facelift Cost-Effective?

There are many factors involved in planning a plastic surgery. Even after deciding to pursue surgery, you’ll need to choose a surgeon, a procedure, a date, and more. The planning process is far more complex than can be explained in a single blog, so today, I’ve chosen to focus on one specific aspect which is among the first questions many patients ask: cost. Medical procedures are certainly not something which should be decided on the basis of, “the cheaper the better,” but at the same time, the most expensive option is not always the ideal one for you. This is one reason why so many patients are drawn to my Band Aid Mini Facelift.

The Band Aid Facelift is a plastic surgery I developed twenty years ago. Using specialized techniques, I am able to achieve a natural-looking rejuvenation in-office with the use of gentle numbing, resulting in less recovery time, scarring, bruising, and swelling than a traditional facelift. While these advantages alone make the Band Aid Mini Facelift a terrific choice for many of my patients, they also allow it to be a more affordable option. Plastic surgery involves several different costs, like the surgeon’s fee, the anesthesia costs, and the facility charge. By reducing the length of the surgery, using only gentle numbing (rather than general anesthesia), and performing the minimally invasive procedure in my comfortable office (rather than the expensive operating room a more comprehensive surgery requires), my Band Aid Face Lift lowers the cost on all three fronts.

While your budget shouldn’t be the only factor in planning your plastic surgery, it should be on the priority list for a number of reasons. First, part of a successful healing process involves limiting your stress and allowing your body to rest. This is more difficult to do when you’re worried about whether you’ve overspent, and if you’re taking unpaid time off work to recover, it can make you feel pressured to return to work before you’re truly ready, which could result in unwanted or even dangerous setbacks in your healing. Second, it’s best to be financially comfortable enough to allow for other potential procedures in the future. While complications requiring medical treatment are very rare with a Band Aid Mini Facelift, patients often enjoy “topping off” their results with Botox®, Dysport®, or facial fillers to smooth any remaining fine lines, and non-surgical skin firming or laser treatments down the line can also refine your results, reduce age spots or other surface imperfections, and even minimize the appearance of surgical scars.

Cost will certainly be involved in your plastic surgery planning, but it should only be one part of the equation. Remember, if it seems too good (or too inexpensive) to be true, it probably is, so if a surgeon’s price seems surprisingly low, you should find out why – perhaps they aren’t telling you all the fees involved, or they have limited experience and therefore need to charge less than a more proficient surgeon. Costs and financing are just a few of the many factors to research while you’re preparing for plastic surgery, and as a double board-certified plastic surgeon, I’m happy to help. To start discussing how you can become your most confident and beautiful self, schedule a consultation with me, Dr. John LeRoy. Or, for more helpful tips, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.