Blepharoplasty is not one price, because it is not one operation. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons publishes an average cosmetic surgeon fee of $3,359 for an upper blepharoplasty and $3,876 for a lower blepharoplasty, so a patient having both lids treated is having two separately priced procedures on one visit. ASPS states in the same breath that the average is only part of the total price and does not include anesthesia, operating room facilities or other related expenses, which is the half of the bill nobody publishes an average for.
Ask providers for a written price
Why the upper lid is the cheaper of the two figures
The gap between $3,359 and $3,876 is not a discount on the upper lid, it reflects different work. An upper blepharoplasty largely removes redundant skin and sometimes a strip of muscle, through an incision that hides in the natural lid crease. A lower blepharoplasty deals with orbital fat that has come forward and with a lid margin that has lost its support, which is longer and more technical surgery in a less forgiving place. Because the fees are published per lid, adding the two averages together is the wrong way to budget a four lid case: one anesthetic and one facility booking cover both, so the combined quote is usually less than two separate operations.
The one case where insurance may pay
ASPS states that most health insurance does not cover cosmetic surgery or its complications, and then names a specific exception: when eyelid surgery is performed to eliminate the redundant skin covering the eyelashes, it may be covered by insurance. That is a functional complaint rather than an aesthetic one and it is an upper lid finding. It matters more than any average, because it is the difference between a full private fee and a copay. ASPS advises reviewing the policy carefully. The question worth raising at consultation is therefore whether your upper lids meet that description, not whether the practice can move its fee.
The five lines ASPS names on an eyelid bill
ASPS lists the costs that may make up eyelid surgery as the surgeon's fee, hospital or surgical facility costs, anesthesia fees, prescriptions for medication and medical tests. Only the first is measured by the published average. It also names three drivers of the surgeon's own fee: experience, the type of procedure used, and geographic office location. The second of those is about you rather than the surgeon, because the technique follows what the examination finds, which is why a practice will rarely price the operation over the phone and why a published figure is usually a starting price for one lid. This record prices the operations; it does not tell anybody which one they need.
Questions people ask about blepharoplasty cost
How much does blepharoplasty cost in the US?
The published averages are surgeon fees only: $3,359 for an upper blepharoplasty and $3,876 for a lower blepharoplasty, according to ASPS. Neither includes anesthesia, the surgical facility, medical tests or prescriptions.
Is the price per eyelid or for both eyes?
The averages describe an operation, meaning the upper pair or the lower pair, not one individual eye. An upper and lower case is two operations and is best quoted as a single combined figure.
Will insurance cover blepharoplasty?
ASPS says most health insurance does not cover cosmetic surgery, but that eyelid surgery performed to eliminate redundant skin covering the eyelashes may be covered. It advises reviewing your policy carefully.
Why will a practice not quote me over the phone?
ASPS names the type of procedure used as one of three things that set the fee, and that is decided on examination. A published starting price is a floor for one lid rather than a quote for your case.