Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi everyone. I am new here and am trying to get suggestions about where to have orthognathic surgery outside the US. I was planning to have upper and lower jaw surgery in the US but my insurance will not cover it and health care is just to expensive in the US. From what I can tell it would cost 40-50 thousand dollars. I think I might be able to get it a little cheaper if I go with a surgeon that will do it outside of a hospital setting. My surgeon I was working with didn't seem to like that idea so I guess I will have to find someone else if I go that route. I have considered going to Costa Rica to have it done by Dr. Oscar Reiche. I sent him an email and got a response that it would cost about $16,000. I also wrote to a surgeon in Belgium and they gave me quote of 26,000 euro. With the exchange rate now I think that is just as expensive as the US. I am very familiar with Italy and one friend suggested I look into the University of Pisa Hospital which has a reputation of doing procedures for very good prices. Is there anyone who has gone to Italy to have orthognathic surgery and could tell me what it cost and what your experience was like? At least if I went to Italy I can speak the language. I am somewhat nervous about going to Costa Rica because even though Dr. Reiche speaks English I think a lot of the nursing staff probably won't. I would really appreciate any insights from anyone who has had experience getting surgery outside the US.

Hi. I live in Australia and I have been quoted $20,000 AU (no insurance) for orthognathic surgery or $12,000 AU with health insurance.

Exchange rate from AU to US is very similar.

Rasperry wrote:Who in Belgium gave you that quote? The only one in Belgium I know of is Maurice Mommaerts and his price was around 5000 Euros the last time I checked.

Yes it was Maurice Mommaerts. The reason I contacted him was I had seen on this and other forums that his prices were reasonable so I was pretty disappointed when it was so high.

[quote="azjaw"]I have considered going to Costa Rica to have it done by Dr. Oscar Reiche. I sent him an email and got a response that it would cost about $16,000.[/quote]

Does that $16,000 include hospital fees and so on?

If you're trying to save money, I wouldn't look at Europe. Most of those countries have expensive medical care like the US. Additionally, the cost of living and housing is much more expensive. If you have to stay a week or a few for recovery, you could spend a small fortune on hotel, food and transportation.

1 Euro = 0.75 US dollar

Have you looked at Japan or Korea. I once saw a website for jaw surgery in Korea. I imagine its a lot cheaper and I think the cost to stay there would be dirt cheap.

Moon Pix 1985 wrote:

azjaw wrote:I have considered going to Costa Rica to have it done by Dr. Oscar Reiche. I sent him an email and got a response that it would cost about $16,000.

Does that $16,000 include hospital fees and so on?

Yes that included the hospital fees and also the cost of a week in a recovery facility. It was basically like a hotel for people who are having medical procedures.

I would be interested in Korea or Japan. Would not know where to begin. Any options?

We need double jaw and insurance will not cover it. $16,860 is the flat fee rate for everything, so it does include a night at the hospital in the United States. 20k seems very high.

[quote="bmueller"]Have you looked at Japan or Korea. I once saw a website for jaw surgery in Korea. I imagine its a lot cheaper and I think the cost to stay there would be dirt cheap.[/quote]

I don't have specific reccomendations for surgeons in Japan or Korea. I just ran across some websites when looking up the surgery and recovery. I would first recommend talking to your ortho that you want to pursue surgery outside the country to make sure it's OK with them. Then I guess you would look into surgeons who can deal with an out of the country patient.

Wishing you the best.

I would second Korea. I had mine done there because I lived there at the time. Everything went very well. Plastic surgery is extremely popular there, making it so a good doctor has tons of experience. My total was $10,000 for Lefort I, BSSO, and chin reduction.

I live in Phoenix, Arizona and the cost of a three piece lefort without insurance is 15.000. I don't think I would travel out of the country when you can have the same procedure here for equal or less.

Does anyone have good recommendations for whom to see in Costa Rica or on finding an ortho here that will work collaboratively with a foreign doctor. My current ortho said he wouldn't be willing to do it.

That quote you are getting from CR isn't really that cheap. Braceface said Phoenix, AZ was on par with your CR quote, and I've heard that few plans in TN cover orthognathic, meaning the no-insurance rates are pretty reasonable.

Even with a local hospital, you can often negotiate with the hospital ahead of time for a reduced rate.