Paying the Piper
You’ve wanted a nose job for a long time, and have wondered how to pay for it. Here are a few tips:
Ask about layaway. Some cosmetic plastic surgeons will let you put some money down and then make layaway payments until the surgery is covered. We like that option because you can make better spending decisions as time goes on. Do you want new skis…or do you want to put another $400 down on rhinoplasty?
The prudent consumer would first have a rhinoplasty consultation before budgeting the dollars for surgery. Why? If the inside of your nose turns up breathing problems, the surgery will be more extensive.
(Read more about a rhinoplasty consultation)
The good news: most insurance companies will cover the part of the surgery that is functional, or clears breathing channels. But insurers balk at ponying up for cosmetic nose surgery because it’s not medically necessary.
Legitimate functional woes can be:
- Nose damage through accidents
- “ “ “ sports
- A naturally occurring deviated septum.
(Read more about the deviated septum.)
Sometimes, a previous nose job caused a breathing blockage.
Be sure and ask your rhinoplasty surgeon if performing only the functional surgery would also improve the appearance of the nose. It happens.
Costs of nose jobs are all over the lot. The going price in, say, Columbus, Ohio, will be vastly different from Beverly Hills.
According to 2,589 realself.com users who had rhinoplasty from a board-certified plastic surgeon, the average nose job cost in the U.S. was $6,800.
In any event, you would want to contact your insurance company before going ahead with a nose job that also involves breathing repair.
Some teens who want an improved nose ask others to direct current and future birthday, Christmas and graduation gifts in cash toward the procedure.
Most cosmetic plastic surgeons work with credit card companies that pay for the procedure and then task you with monthly payments. Good credit is required.
Personal bank loans and home equity loans are a possibility, too.
Bottom line? Before getting the money right, get the choice of surgeon right! Because rhinoplasty is so incredibly complicated, somewhere between 20 and 25% of nose job procedures are botched.
Which means you‘ll have to go back under the knife and back to the well for even more money because revision rhinoplasty is harder and costs more.
(Read more about finding a well-qualified rhinoplasty surgeon.)