Jaw surgery & hospital costs in Melbourne, Australia

[Smiletagious:o)]

Hello everyone,
Just thought I would update you all as I have gained quotes for my surgery. I emailed a few hospitals (private) where my OMS does surgery to get estimates and they were very helpful. I will be having lower jaw advancement with possible wisdom teeth removal.

My surgeons fee: $3500 (Medicare Item number 52351, I get a $937.20 rebate) so it comes down to $2562.80

Private hospital theatre fee: $1950
Bed Fee (per night): $630 normal room / $691 (HDU) per night
Prosthetics (screws/plates): approx $600
Assistant (if required): approx $700
Anaesthetist: approx $1500 (not sure how much Medicare rebate is)

So altogether, my surgery will cost between about $7300 and $8700. I am so happy because this is a lot less (thousands less) than I had budgeted for Just thought this might help others in Australia who are wondering about the costs involved like I was (I am funding this myself, I don't have private health insurance)

My next ortho appointment is at the beginning of August and I am nearly ready for surgery, so I’m hoping my surgery might be in September/October! I’m sure time will fly, although I’m getting a bit nervous as I haven’t had surgery before or stayed in hospital, but I'm excited at the same time, lol.

Take care and I'll let you know when I have a surgery date!

[vincent168]

Would you happen to have the item numbers for these services? (in particular the surgery and anesthetist fees)

[Clare85]

So, I finally have my surgery booked, for April 16. It will be done at Epworth Richmond by Dr Tim Probert. Anesthetist Dr David Hayes. Total cost looking at $14280. I don't have private hospital cover but do have extras. I am having lower jaw surgery with 2 wisdoms out and possible genioplasty. Here's the cost breakdown (and note my braces cost $15276...Dr Igor Lavrin).
Removal 2 wisdom teeth(323x2):$1000
Planning xrays(036,037):$190
Dental models(071x2):$150
Cephalometric analysis(081):$150
Articulation of models & analysis(964):$100
Surgical splint(965):$275
Single jaw surgery(52351):$5000
Anaethetist fees:~$1400
Theatre fees:$2635
Bed fees(2 nights):$2080
Prosthesis(plates, screws etc):$1300
I think I'll be lucky to get even 2-3k back from insurance/Medicare.
I would love to know what everyone else's costs are looking like.

[FL00DY]

Hi everyone. I'm brand new to the site and am having a look around.

These costs are incredible and I wanted to ask, apart from the waiting periods, why are you wanting to pay for it all yourself instead of private health cover? I'm 29 & I've only just this week got Braces on my top teeth, but I've seen two surgeons about Orthognathic surgery and they've both told me it's just too expensive to think about without private health cover. I've never had private health, but after getting the item numbers to give to the health funds, I've gone with NIB and paid $850 with extras. Timing wise is perfect because I need my Braces on for 12 months before a decision is made if I should/want to have the surgery, by that time my hospital waiting period will be over and I just pay the excess of $500.

I've not wanted to wait any longer for my braces and have paid the $6000, and I'm happy(ish) to, but wow $15K compared to waiting 12 months and having it covered. Like I said I'm new to all this, so I'm just trying to understand.

Cheers
Paul

[littleviolet]

Your surgeon is cheap! I paid $6500 for mine! he is the top one where I live though & very good... I think I got about $1000 back from medicare and HBF from him. $1500 for my Anaesthetist, and I got half that back off HBF, and luckily I had health insurace because the bill I got from the hospital was about $8,000! it was a private hospital and it included one night in intensive care unit, two nights in a shared room, care from nurses, medical gear I used, medicine, food... I was shocked at the price! but because I had top cover of HBF I only had to pay about $130!

I had my lower jaw done too. Don't worry about it, it is actually not very painful & you will recover very quickly! I didn't even need painkillers once I was out of hospital! and I was feeling back to normal at 2 weeks post op, and the swelling only lasted about 5 days! I was suprised at how easy it was

ps it's weird that you will be getting your wisdom teeth out at the same time as the surgery. My surgeon took mine out 9 months before the surgery, because he wanted that area to be fully healed to put the plates and skrews in.

[Clare85]

Hi Paul,
You have been given excellent advice. I, however, was not. I asked my dentist (prior to being braced) whether it would be worth getting health insurance and she said no. About 3 months into getting braces I decided she was wrong and I took out extras and basic hospital. After waiting 12 months I got back $600 last year and I will get $700 this year in dental/orthodontic extras. It was only a few short months ago my ortho said I would likely need jaw surgery, and he said I would need it 'in the first quarter' of 2012. Needless to say, although I upgraded to comprehensive hospital cover immediately, my surgery is only 6 months into my 12 month waiting period. Not happy! So that may explain things??? In fact, I'm already good to go for surgery (only 4 months after finding out I would need it) but just couldn't get a date til April due to work commitments. And I'll be damned if I hang around in braces for an extra 9 months (til Oct) just passing the time til my waiting period is over! Poor communication has unfortunately dogged my entire braces journey...
Little violet, who was your surgeon if you don't mind me asking? Glad to hear your recovery was so smooth!

[FL00DY]

[quote="Clare85"]Hi Paul,
You have been given excellent advice. I, however, was not. I asked my dentist (prior to being braced) whether it would be worth getting health insurance and she said no. About 3 months into getting braces I decided she was wrong and I took out extras and basic hospital. After waiting 12 months I got back $600 last year and I will get $700 this year in dental/orthodontic extras. It was only a few short months ago my ortho said I would likely need jaw surgery, and he said I would need it 'in the first quarter' of 2012. Needless to say, although I upgraded to comprehensive hospital cover immediately, my surgery is only 6 months into my 12 month waiting period. Not happy! So that may explain things??? In fact, I'm already good to go for surgery (only 4 months after finding out I would need it) but just couldn't get a date til April due to work commitments. And I'll be damned if I hang around in braces for an extra 9 months (til Oct) just passing the time til my waiting period is over! Poor communication has unfortunately dogged my entire braces journey...
Little violet, who was your surgeon if you don't mind me asking? Glad to hear your recovery was so smooth![/quote]

Clare85 that sucks I'd almost be asking the ortho to pony up half of it, it's their mistake. I havent made a decision if I want the surgery yet. Will need to wait and see how the braces turn out.

[vincent168]

So, I finally have my surgery booked, for April 16. It will be done at Epworth Richmond by Dr Tim Probert. Anesthetist Dr David Hayes. Total cost looking at $14280. I don't have private hospital cover but do have extras. I am having lower jaw surgery with 2 wisdoms out and possible genioplasty. Here's the cost breakdown (and note my braces cost $15276...Dr Igor Lavrin).
Removal 2 wisdom teeth(323x2):$1000
Planning xrays(036,037):$190
Dental models(071x2):$150
Cephalometric analysis(081):$150
Articulation of models & analysis(964):$100
Surgical splint(965):$275
Single jaw surgery(52351):$5000
Anaethetist fees:~$1400
Theatre fees:$2635
Bed fees(2 nights):$2080
Prosthesis(plates, screws etc):$1300
I think I'll be lucky to get even 2-3k back from insurance/Medicare.
I would love to know what everyone else's costs are looking like.

Oh my goodness, what type of orthodontic treatment did you undergo? Was it lingual braces or something? 15k+ is way over the normal price for traditional metal brackets

[CaliforniaKid]

I thought Australia would be expensive. Congrats on your surgery. Book for late July, brief summary of some *but not all* procedures:

multisegment osteo - 9k
graft plates - 5k
bilatteral saggital osteom -8k
more grafts - 3k

lots of other things i cannot spell. and that's only the first page.

[Clare85]

Hi Vincent,
You're correct. I have upper metal linguals and lower ceramic outers. Would I choose this option again if I knew what I know now? Unsure. But hey, hindsight is a wonderful thing...
CaliforniaKid, how much of your costs are covered by insurance?

[CaliforniaKid]

CaliforniaKid, how much of your costs are covered by insurance?

zero.

[Clare85]

Ouch.

[Kristyar0]

Hey guys!
I thought I might weigh in on this as I'm a Melbournian and had lower jaw surgery and my wisdom teeth (3) removed September 26th last year.
My costs were:
Surgeon fees: jaw ($4000) + teeth ($500) = $4500
Anaethetist: $1050
Excess for hospital admission: $250
I was able to claim back $1331 for the surgeon's fees and $366 for the anaethetist between private health insurance and Medicare.

[lishuai]

Hi, I am in Brisbane and i was told by my orthodontist i need braces for 12-18 months then jaw surgery after that. I don't have private health insurance but i'm thinking if i should get one to help pay for the surgery. I looked at some private health fund policies there is a waiting period of 12 months which is fine but they don't cover hospital treatment for which medicare pays no benefit eg most cosmetic surgery. Is jaw surgery in this category? Which health funds are you with that cover jaw surgery? And how much do you pay per month for the insurance and how much did you end up paying for the surgery out of pocket? Thanks.

[FL00DY]

Hi lishuai. Your surgeon should provide you with item numbers for either top & bottom jaw surgery. Quote these numbers when talking to the health funds. They should be able to tell you what cover you need. I'm with NIB, can't remember what the cover is