Male Chest Surgery After Weight Loss Cost in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley
The total cost of male chest surgery after significant weight loss with me starts from $16,500 out of pocket if you have eligible private hospital cover and meet the Medicare criteria, and from $28,000 if you are uninsured. Both figures cover my surgical fee, the anaesthetist’s fee, hospital and theatre fees at Maitland Private Hospital including a 1 night stay, your compression garment and all follow-up. They are starting figures for the operation I most often perform on the chest after weight loss, a mastectomy with free nipple-areola graft (the BB grade 5 operation) on the front of the chest only, which takes about 4 hours. Within that total, my surgical fee starts from $14,990. Your individual quote follows consultation.
Several factors move the quote above the starting figure. A torsoplasty extension that carries the excision around the sides of the chest, or VASER liposuction (ultrasound assisted lipectomy) planned at the same time, adds operating time and changes the fee. Which Medicare item number applies also changes what you pay out of pocket. I go through the item numbers in my full male chest surgery cost guide.
I am a FRACS Specialist Surgeon and I operate at Maitland Private Hospital in the Hunter Valley. My patients come from Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Port Stephens, the Central Coast and across regional NSW.
This page covers costs for men who have lost significant weight, whether through surgery, medication or lifestyle change, and now have chest skin excess as well as any remaining gland or fat. If you have gynaecomastia without a weight loss history, the costs are covered separately on my gynaecomastia surgery cost page.
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What my surgical fee includes
My surgical fee covers more than the operation itself. It includes:
Your second consultation at no cost
This is where we go through your blood results, confirm the operation for each side of your chest and settle the plan. It can be done remotely if you live outside the Hunter.
All follow-up for 12 months
The first 2 weeks after surgery are the intense period, with close review of the nipple-areola grafts and the drain. After that I see you at 4 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months. None of these visits attract a separate charge.
Your compression garment
Worn for 4 weeks full-time and then 2 weeks during the day.
What makes up your total cost
There are 3 components to the cost of male chest surgery after weight loss at Maitland Private Hospital:
My surgical fee
Starts from $14,990 for a mastectomy with free nipple-areola graft on the front of the chest. Each side is graded on its own, and the fee reflects the operation planned for each side. Skin excision alone on the chest is a shorter operation and is quoted lower than the free graft.
The anaesthetist’s fee
Billed separately by the anaesthetist. Your pre-operative anaesthetic consultation is by phone in most cases. The fee is based on the length of the operation.
Hospital and theatre fees
Billed by Maitland Private Hospital. The starting figure assumes about 4 hours in theatre and a 1 night stay. A drain is used routinely for this operation and is brought out through an existing incision, so it adds no separate charge. Uninsured patients are also charged for theatre consumables and dressings, which is why the uninsured total sits well above the insured one.
The starting totals of $16,500 with eligible private hospital cover and $28,000 uninsured cover all 3 components. A longer operation or a second night adds to the anaesthetist and hospital fees.
Medicare and health funds
Medicare item numbers may apply to chest surgery after significant weight loss. For the mastectomy with free nipple-areola graft, the items I claim are 30169 for the skin and fat excision and 45545 for the nipple-areola graft. Where the gland rather than the skin is the main problem, 31526 applies in place of 30169. When 2 items are claimed at the same operation, Medicare pays the second at 50% under its multiple operation rule. Whether you meet the criteria is assessed at consultation, and I cannot tell you that in advance.
If you hold private hospital cover and an item number applies, your fund contributes to the hospital and theatre fees and part of the surgical and anaesthetic fees. How much depends on your policy and your excess. Revision surgery, if ever needed, is charged depending on your insurance position; this is covered in the full cost guide.
The criteria behind these item numbers, health fund tiers and worked examples are in my full male chest surgery cost guide.
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Your next step
You need a GP referral before I can see you. The referral lets me claim the consultation and any surgery against Medicare where an item number applies, and it means your GP is part of the process from the start.
Your first consultation is at my rooms in Lorn, Maitland. It runs for about an hour and covers your weight history, an assessment of each side of your chest, the operation I would plan for each side and a written quote. If you live outside the Hunter, the second consultation can be done by telehealth once your blood results are back.