The published answer is $8,174, and the source that publishes it says immediately that this is not the price of the operation. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons gives that as the average cost of a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) and states that it does not include anesthesia, operating room facilities or other related expenses. Abdominoplasty is a longer operation than most cosmetic surgery, which means the excluded lines are larger here than they are elsewhere, and the gap between the average and a real quote is correspondingly wider.
Ask providers for a written price
The six lines, and which ones are big on this operation
ASPS names the surgeon's fee, anesthesia fees, hospital or surgical facility costs, medical tests, post-surgery garments and prescriptions for medication. On an abdominoplasty the anesthesia and facility lines are substantial because the operation is long and usually done under general anesthetic in a full theatre. Garments matter more here than on most operations too, because compression is worn for weeks. A quote that names all six is a budget; a quote that names one is a benchmark.
What moves the surgeon's own fee
The three drivers ASPS names are experience, the type of procedure used and geographic office location. The middle one carries most of the variation in this operation, because a mini, a standard, a fleur de lis and a circumferential abdominoplasty are four different jobs sold under one word. Which one applies is decided at the examination, so a figure quoted before an examination is quoting the standard case and nothing else.
The funding question, and the one exception to it
ASPS states that most health insurance plans do not cover tummy tuck surgery or its complications, and that many plastic surgeons offer patient financing plans. The exception patients most often ask about is the panniculectomy, a reconstructive removal of an overhanging apron of skin, which the ASPS panniculectomy page says insurance may cover in some instances. If any part of the proposal is that, it belongs in a conversation with the insurer before a self-pay quote is worth getting.
Other questions people ask
How much is a tummy tuck in the US?
The ASPS average cost of a tummy tuck is $8,174. That is a surgeon fee and excludes anesthesia, operating room facilities and other related expenses.
What is the total likely to be?
No national figure exists for the total. ASPS names five further lines beside the surgeon fee, and on a long operation like this one the anesthesia and facility lines are the largest of them.
Does insurance ever pay?
Not for the cosmetic operation, according to ASPS. Its panniculectomy page says insurance may cover that reconstructive procedure in some instances and advises asking in advance.
Why will nobody quote me over the phone?
Because which version of the operation applies is decided on examination, and the versions differ by hours of theatre time.