Columelloplasty means surgery on the columella, the strip of tissue between the nostrils. It is a component of nasal surgery rather than a freestanding operation for most patients, and it is usually quoted as part of a rhinoplasty rather than on its own. The only published national reference in this family is the American Society of Plastic Surgeons average cost of rhinoplasty of $7,637, a surgeon fee excluding anesthesia, operating room facilities and other related expenses.
Ask providers for a written price
Why it is rarely priced alone
A hanging or retracted columella is usually addressed alongside the rest of the nose, because changing one part alters how the others look. Surgeons therefore quote the operation they propose rather than a menu of components. Where a patient genuinely needs only this correction, the quote is for a short operation with its own anesthesia and facility requirements, and the practice sets the fee rather than any published table.
What to ask if it is proposed as part of a larger plan
Whether the quoted figure already includes it, since the answer is usually yes and occasionally no. Whether it adds theatre time, which moves the anesthesia and facility lines. And whether it changes the revision policy, since finer structural work sometimes carries different terms. These are quote-reading questions rather than clinical ones.
The reference figure and its limits
The rhinoplasty average of $7,637 describes the whole operation, not this part of it, and ASPS does not publish component pricing for any procedure. This record reports that absence rather than filling it. The number that matters for a patient is the written quote from a surgeon who has examined them, itemised across the six ASPS cost lines.
Questions people ask about columelloplasty
What does a columelloplasty cost?
No national figure is published for it. It is usually quoted inside a rhinoplasty, for which the ASPS average surgeon fee is $7,637.
Can it be done on its own?
Sometimes, and then the practice sets a fee for a short operation with its own anesthesia and facility. Most patients have it as part of a larger plan.
Does it add to a rhinoplasty quote?
Ask. Usually it is inside the quoted operation; where it adds theatre time it moves the anesthesia and facility lines too.
Is it cosmetic or functional?
It can be either, and that changes the funding question. Your surgeon and insurer decide that, not a price record.