New Jersey Plastic Surgeons

Most people are surprised when they first find out about the expensive cost of most plastic surgical procedures. A typical plastic surgeon will change anywhere from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars for a single surgery, depending upon the complexity of the operation. Counted in those high costs are not only the plastic surgeon’s costs, but also the costs of the anesthesiologist, operating room facilities and accommodations for recovery.

The average kind of elective plastic surgery patient only makes about $50,000 a year. As you may know most optional cosmetic surgeries are not covered by any sort of health insurance, leaving most patients to pay the bill another way. Cosmetic surgery is not exclusively for the wealthy. Here are several different ways you can pay for your plastic surgery:

Personal Loan: You could outright borrow the money from a bank or other lending institution without any sort of collateral such as a home or car. There are lots of reputable internet loan agencies that can offer often offer you lower interest rates than a bank because they have less overhead. Some loan agencies specialize in medical or smaller loans for minor elective surgeries. The approval process for these types of loans can be a few hours to a few weeks.

Home Equity Loan: If you own your home and it is worth more than you owe the bank, then you could borrow some money against your home to pay for your plastic surgery. Most home equity loans don’t have restrictions on how the loaned money is used and the money you pay in interest may even be tax deductible.

Credit Card: Yes, some people put their entire plastic surgery bill on their credit card and pay it off over time. Generally the interest rates will be high, but you could get special incentive points and bonuses from the credit card company for spending that much money at once.

Plastic Surgery Financing: There are companies that actually specialize in giving out loans that are intended to be used for plastic and cosmetic surgeries. These loans are generally lower interest rates than many other loans and many plastic surgeons prefer using them when possible. Some plastic surgeons now work with financing companies or even offer their own financing services.

LendingClub is a peer-to-peer service that offers personal loan rates that are much lower than a bank. You can create a free account to learn more!

Personal Networking Loan: Peer-to-peer loan programs allow hundreds of people to loan you very small amounts of money at a relatively low pay back rate. There are many web based peer-to-peer loan sites that will loan you money as long as your credit rating is not too bad. This is one of newest ways of borrowing money.

Save it Up: Yes, you can save up the money, but it could take a long time, depending upon the cost and the amount of money you are able to put away. By the time you save up enough for the procedure you want the cost may have risen! Many people have a difficult time saving up enough money to pay for a specific plastic surgery procedure.

The idea of taking out a loan for something like plastic surgery tends to scare some people, but you have to consider plastic surgery as an investment in your health, both physical and mental as well as an investment in your career, relationships and quality of life. It is a high cost to pay, but the rewards of a successful cosmetic surgery often outweight the costs.

No matter what the occasion, if you’re looking for a one-of-a-kind gift idea for that special person you may want to consider getting him or her a gift certificate to a plastic surgeon! Taking a cue from travel agents where gift cards for luxury vacations are a popular idea, many plastic surgeons now offer gift certificates for their services which can be purchased by friends and relatives of the perspective patient.

Most plastic surgeons will sell you a gift certificate or gift card for as little as $25. Some plastic surgery centers have fancy gift cards with logos and photos embossed on them while some simply offer plain gift certificates which you can present to the recipient in a classy card or envelope. Of course most medical spas which combine the services of a spa with that of a plastic surgeon’s office will offer gift cards that can be used for everything from getting your nails done, to a full derma smooth or Botox procedure!

Obviously, you’ll want to do your homework before you just run out and buy a gift card from any plastic surgeon. First, be sure that your recipient is serious about getting plastic surgery and has really done his or her homework. Giving a plastic surgery gift card out of the blue can obviously be taken the wrong way! You should talk to your recipient to find out which plastic surgeon he or she is currently working with and be sure that’s the surgeon’s office that will be performing the cosmetic surgery. In addition to the doctor you’ll also want to be sure your recipient is healthy enough and interested enough to go through with the procedure.

You most likely won’t be able to exchange or get a refund on your gift certificate once it’s purchased. You may even want to find out the approximate cost of the procedure that he or she is interested in. You may have some friends who can also chip or purchase gift cards to help offset the cost.

So consider giving the gift of beauty and confidence with a cosmetic surgery gift card! The gift of plastic surgery is not something to be taken lightly, but it could prove to be the gift that dramatically improves someone’s outlook on life and because each cosmetic surgery procedure on each individual is unique, you’ll never find a gift that’s as “one-of-a-kind” as a gift card to a plastic surgeon!

With the advent of more and more “medical spas” or “medspas” over the past several years plastic surgery has become something that is not always limited to a doctor’s office or hospital. Medical spas are essentially combining two different businesses: day spas and minor outpatient surgery centers. While there’s no real definition of what constitutes a medical spa and what doesn’t, most medical spas can be identified as being a business which offers a large variety of spa treatments such as facials, massages and mud wraps with a mix of mostly non-invasive cosmetic surgery procedures including skin abrasion, derma smooth, laser hair removal and even some types of liposuction.

Are medical spas performing plastic surgery legally?

The initial concept of joining traditional spa services with cosmetic surgery procedures under one roof is believed to have started nearly ten years ago. The International Spa Association reports that there are now over 1,800 medical spas in the United States, which is an amazing 84% increase from July 2007 through December 2008. And while most medical spas bill themselves as being clean and safe, there has been very little close study of the safety or even legality of the practice.

The September death of 37-year-old Mrs. Kah-Orukotan in the Florida Weston Medspa brought some of these safety and training issues to light. There are some charges that the type of operation Mrs. Kah-Orukotan was undergoing was not strictly allowed to be performed in a non-medical facilities. The investigation is still ongoing. Now lawmakers in several states, including New York, Massachusetts, Florida and Utah are now considering laws to formal define a medical spa and to begin regulating what they can and can’t do. New Jersey, which has the nation’s only plastic surgery tax (or “Botax”), may be the inspiration for a measure in some of the upcoming healthcare bills that would create a tax on cosmetic surgery procedures performed at medical spas.

Are medical spas safe for plastic surgery?

The medical spas themselves point out the fact that they have paid medical doctors on staff and that the vast majority of their patients have a safe and effective cosmetic surgery experience. Critics point out that some of those doctors actually started out in one field and moved into performing plastic surgery procedures for a number of different reasons. Some of the doctors may not have all the training and experience that established board certified plastic surgeons usually have.

Working at a medical spa can be attractive to a doctor for several reasons. First, it can add variety to a doctor’s normal routine of seeing the same patients with the same ailments week in and week out. Second, many doctors report that working in a medical spa is a more rewarding and less stressful experience than working in a busy practice or hospital. Third, working in a medical spa often requires less time filling out insurance paperwork for doctors because the business is largely paid for with “out of pocket” money from patients which completely avoids the numerous medical insurance claims and beauracracy that’s often found in a regular doctor’s office.

This payment system is also a big reason why medical spas are becoming so popular among their clinetele. Some medical spas offer the ability to just walk in off the street and receive a variety of spa treatments and surgical procedures, sometimes all in the same day. This convenience and immediacy appeals the baby boomers who want plastic surgery but don’t want to deal with the usual procedure of dealing with a busy doctor’s office.

The prices of many of the plastic surgery procedures at medical spas can also be quite attractive. Many medical spas take advantage of the latest technology and some staff members require less training than in a traditional doctor’s office. These efficiencies and cost savings are often reflected in their prices.

The safety of medical spas for plastic surgery procedures is still a hotly debated topic. It’s buyer beware when you’re choosing a plastic surgeon or picking a medical spa, so you’ll probably want to do your homework. You should probably check references if possible, make sure the medical spa and surgical areas are clean and well maintained. Just as when you’re looking for a cosmetic surgeon, you’ll want to investigate the experience of the doctors as well as any complaints there may be against the doctor or medical spa in question.

For some people the convenience and attractive price may be too much to pass up, while for others the more traditional method of having plastic surgery in a doctor’s office or hospital may be much more comforting. It’s ultimately a personal decision to have any sort of cosmetic surgery done in at a medical spa.