Breast Lift (Mastopexy) Cost in Newcastle NSW
A breast lift (mastopexy) is not one operation. In my practice it falls into 2 versions with different fees, and the version that applies to you is decided at consultation.
The first is a cosmetic breast lift (mastopexy). The nipple is repositioned and the skin envelope is reduced using a vertical or anchor scar pattern. This is a shorter operation, 3 hours, done as a day stay without drains. No Medicare item applies, so there is no Medicare or health fund contribution and 10% GST applies to every component.
The second is a breast lift (mastopexy) under Medicare item 45558. This applies where at least two thirds of the breast tissue, including the nipple, sits below the inframammary fold. It is more common after significant weight loss, where the loose skin extends around to the lateral chest. The operation is larger, 4 hours, usually needs drains, and is still done as a day stay. Where the item applies, Medicare and your health fund contribute and no GST is charged.
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Cosmetic breast lift (mastopexy)
My surgical fee is $9,889 including GST for the least complex case: normal BMI, a vertical or anchor pattern lift with no additional procedures, no drains, day stay at Maitland Private Hospital, and no fat grafting. That is my fee only. The anaesthetist and the hospital bill separately and set their own charges. The total is approximately $22,500 including GST. An individual written quote follows your consultation. A larger operation, a higher BMI, fat grafting to the breast, or a second procedure in the same operation changes the quote.
Breast lift (mastopexy) under item 45558
My surgical fee starts at $12,990 for the least complex case that meets the item criteria: normal BMI, a bilateral lift with drains, day stay at Maitland Private Hospital, no additional procedures and no fat grafting. That is my fee only. The anaesthetist and the hospital bill separately and set their own charges. With private hospital cover, the total is approximately $14,500 out of pocket after Medicare and fund rebates. Without cover, the total is approximately $25,000. Where no item applies after assessment, the position changes and 10% GST applies; your written quote sets this out.
Fat grafting to the breast can be added to either version. The fat is harvested by VASER liposuction (ultrasound assisted lipectomy), prepared, and grafted into the breast in the same operation. This adds to the surgical fee and the operating time, and a donor site other than the abdomen changes the quote.
I am Dr Bernard Beldholm M.B.B.S B.Sc(Med) FRACS, Specialist Surgeon. I operate at Maitland Private Hospital and consult at Lorn, seeing patients from Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Port Stephens, the Central Coast and regional NSW.
What my fee includes
Your first consultation
Where the version of breast lift (mastopexy) that applies to you is decided, and a second consultation at no cost, including review of your blood results. The second consultation can be done remotely.
All post-operative follow-up
In the first 2 weeks you are reviewed closely by my nurse and by me, including Healite II LED light therapy at those visits. After that, reviews at 4 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months. Your GP takes over routine care at the 4 week visit.
Drain care
Where drains are used, including removal in the rooms.
A surgical bra
Supplied after the operation.
Where fat grafting is added
Review of the donor site at each follow-up visit alongside the breasts. Grafting is completed in the one operation. Any second grafting session is a separate operation with its own quote.
What makes up your total cost
My surgical fee
Set for the version of breast lift (mastopexy) that applies to you.
The anaesthetist’s fee
Billed separately. Your anaesthetic consultation is by phone in most cases, with examination on the day of surgery.
Hospital and theatre fees at Maitland Private Hospital for a day stay
The hospital charges a higher rate for cosmetic theatre time when no Medicare item applies.
Drains
Used in the larger operation, as part of the hospital charge.
Where fat grafting is added
VASER liposuction (ultrasound assisted lipectomy) harvest from the donor site and preparation of the fat, carried in the surgical fee and the operating time, plus a compression garment for the donor site. More than one donor site, or a donor site other than the abdomen, changes the quote.
Additional procedures in the same operation
Such as liposuction (suction assisted lipectomy) of the lateral chest, change the surgical fee, the operating time and therefore the anaesthetist and hospital charges.
Medicare and health funds
Medicare item 45558 is the item for a bilateral breast lift (mastopexy). It applies once per lifetime, requires photographic evidence with a marker at the inframammary fold documented in your notes, and cannot be claimed if an implant is inserted in the same operation. Fat grafting has no Medicare item and does not change the position. Whether the item applies to you is assessed at consultation, not before.
Where the item applies, Medicare and your health fund contribute to my fee and the fund covers the hospital charge under your policy. What your fund pays depends on your level of cover and excess. Where no item applies, there is no Medicare or fund contribution, 10% GST applies to the surgical, anaesthetist and hospital fees, and the hospital charges a higher rate for cosmetic theatre time.
Revision surgery, if ever needed, is charged depending on your insurance position; this is covered in the full breast surgery cost guide.
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Your next step
A GP referral is required before your consultation. Consultations are at my rooms in Lorn, Maitland. For patients in regional NSW, the first consultation can be by telehealth, with examination in person before surgery is booked. Your written quote, for the version of breast lift (mastopexy) that applies to you, follows the consultation.