Medical Questions » Cosmetic and Plastic Surgery Questions » Question No. 236
| Question: | I am very conscious of a slightly large nose and am considering plastic surgery to make it smaller. How do I go about getting in contact with a good plastic surgeon, and could you give me a rough estimate of its cost as I' m not in a private health fund? |
| Answer: | Both plastic surgeons and ear, nose and throat surgeons perform operations to reduce the size, or change the shape, of noses that do not suit their owners.
The operation takes about 40 minutes, and you are in hospital for only one or two days. You feel as though a horse has kicked your nose when you wake up, and it becomes quite swollen and bruised, but after a couple of weeks, it settles down, and in a month you can proudly show your new nose in public without your best friends really knowing just why you look that little bit different.
The best person to recommend a good surgeon is your own general practitioner. S/he will be aware of the specialists in your area, and will have seen examples of their work. Using GPs to obtain referrals is an excellent way of maintaining high standards, as any specialist who does the wrong thing by a GPs patients, gets no more referrals.
Medical fees (including surgeon, assistant and anaesthetist) will vary significantly, depending on what is done, and how, but should range between $1500 and $2500. Part of these fees will be refunded under Medicare. The hospital charges will also fluctuate from one place ro another, but will probably be in the $1000 to $2000 range.
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