Jaw surgery & hospital costs in Melbourne, Australia

[Clare85]

Haha thanks for the reply, I'm actually roughly 5 years post op now - this is a very old thread! I had some moderately bad complications post op but all is well now save for some residual numbness around my mouth/chin on the left. The whole braces/surgery thing cost me $25k and unsurprisingly I'm very good at wearing my plate every second night so I never have to go through it again!!!

[kim1224567]

I'm in Melbourne and have just had SARPE surgery done but have quotes for braces and double jaw surgery too. With private health insurance I'll be out of pocket about $25k.

SARPE surgeon fees - $3500
SARPE hospital and anaethetist fee - $3500 (I hadn't served the health insurance waiting period for this so paid out of pocket)

Braces - $9000

Double jaw surgery surgeon fees - $8500
Double jaw surgery hospital fees - TBC however this will be covered by my private health insurance.

I thought these rates from 2017 might help some you out there doing research on the AU costs for this

[lundberg]

Hello guys,

I will be having double jaw surgery + genioplasty in Australia in the next couple of months. I read multiple cases of inexperienced surgeons in Sydney/Melbourne that made terrible mistakes with their patients and I have no idea which surgeon to choose. Can anyone here who did similar surgery point me to a good surgeon in Sydney or Melbourne?

Is it better to do the surgery in Sydney than in Melbourne? and if so can you guys provide any recommendations for surgeons in Sydney?

Thanks in advance!

[Clem]

[quote="SingleJawMelb"]Had my surgery this year via OMFS on Elizabeth Street, Melbourne. It's "not a partnership" but you can message me for surgeon details. But you should be going with your orthos recommendation.

Single jaw surgery, with wisdom teeth removal. $8100 total. Medicare won't rebate me (reciprocal card) bit it's normally about $1200 or so they pay. Private health - Medibank top extra, $1000 wisdom rebate and not sure on surgery as they have an issue with my account. You can find the item numbers online.

$2k for the gas man, oh which I paid $750.

I didn't pay hospital fees because I'm an international student and I have Overseas Student health corner.

It's prob not worth getting private health with extras (dental) unless you need surgery cause they will only pay $1k after the first year.

Anyone had jaw surgery done via public system?[/quote]


Hi mate,

I am also going to have single jaw surgery at OMFS by Dr. Nastri. I am currently finding a good insurance provider. Therefore, I really want to know what type of insurance you bought and what the final total cost is. I am looking forward to your reply and thank you very much!

Clem.

[Clem]

[quote="SingleJawMelb"]I received my hospital bill, which I didn't pay anything.

$5.5k for two nights after surgey and all the services included.

So I reckon single jaw surgey in Melb would cost just shy of $14k out of pocket if you had no health insurance. Take of $2k if you don't have wisdom tooth removal.[/quote]


Hi,

Were your hospital fees covered by your insurance?

Could you pease provide the item numbers of the services?

I am also gonna have the same surgery at OMFS and I am also an international student.

Thank you so much!

[fullbald]

My surgeon is Dr. Patricia Bordbar and Orthodontics is Dr. David Austin from Smile Solution.

Double Jaw - $11k (2k back from Medicare and PHI)
orthodontics - $7k (maybe $1k back from PHI),
hospital is fully covered by Private Health Insurance,
Anaethesia costs around 1 - 2k (maybe half back from medicare and PHI)

I am with Medibank Standard Hospital and Top Extra 70, cost $175 a month.

Please let me know if someone had treatment with Dr. Bordbar and Dr. Austin before, or if you know a better PHI.

[iceman89]

[quote="fullbald"]My surgeon is Dr. Patricia Bordbar and Orthodontics is Dr. David Austin from Smile Solution.

Double Jaw - $11k (2k back from Medicare and PHI)
orthodontics - $7k (maybe $1k back from PHI),
hospital is fully covered by Private Health Insurance,
Anaethesia costs around 1 - 2k (maybe half back from medicare and PHI)

I am with Medibank Standard Hospital and Top Extra 70, cost $175 a month.

Please let me know if someone had treatment with Dr. Bordbar and Dr. Austin before, or if you know a better PHI.[/quote]

Hey shes my surgeon too! I also went through Smile Solutions. Had lower jaw surgery a fortnight ago and so far I am happy with my results.
As for insurance I was also with Medibank but then I switched to BUPA. ($155 per month). While the monthly cost was less I ended up getting about $200 less in benefits overall (for wisdom teeth removal and consults).
Also for orthodontics the lifetime cap for BUPA is $2k. Yearly max is $700. So if you can spread out the treatment plan over a 3 year period you might be able to get $2k back.
Anesthesia I paid $750 out of pocket. Total cost was $2.2k.

[fullbald]

Congrats on your surgery, hope you are recovering well.
I am getting my braces in January 2018, hopefully surgery January 2019.
Which hospital did you go for the surgery? How was it like after the surgery? Any numbness on the chin or lower lip?
Well with PHI, us customers just cant win, right. I am actually thinking of switching it to Bupa Budget Hospital with Gold Extra 75%, as it gives $800 orthodontics each year while medibank's only $800 first year and $400 each year after. One thing stops me is that on the fine print, it says Bupa only pays a fixed amount towards non-member first orthodontist while Medibank pays 100% to either member or non-member. I am going to get some clarification from bupa for this, however would love to hear your insights.
my treatment plan is about 18 - 24 months and the doctor says that it is more likely to be 18 months if not less.
Again congrats on your surgery.

[iceman89]

[quote="fullbald"]Congrats on your surgery, hope you are recovering well.
I am getting my braces in January 2018, hopefully surgery January 2019.
Which hospital did you go for the surgery? How was it like after the surgery? Any numbness on the chin or lower lip?
Well with PHI, us customers just cant win, right. I am actually thinking of switching it to Bupa Budget Hospital with Gold Extra 75%, as it gives $800 orthodontics each year while medibank's only $800 first year and $400 each year after. One thing stops me is that on the fine print, it says Bupa only pays a fixed amount towards non-member first orthodontist while Medibank pays 100% to either member or non-member. I am going to get some clarification from bupa for this, however would love to hear your insights.
my treatment plan is about 18 - 24 months and the doctor says that it is more likely to be 18 months if not less.
Again congrats on your surgery.[/quote]

Thanks.

I was told I would have to wear braces for nine months before my surgery. I had to wear them for 2 years 4 months before I was ready for surgery! So take what they say with a grain of salt haha. But to be fair I didn't want to rush them either. Besides you just get used to it after a while. Its not so bad.
The hospital was Epworth Richmond. I spent one night there. It was ok. Although their menu could do with some more liquid food options. I had orange juice and milk for dinner because that was the only liquid food available.
Surgery was completely pain free. I was a little bit nervous, but honestly you pass out straight away and don't feel any pain. Best nights sleep you will ever get for a while so enjoy it I say!
I am just past 2 weeks post op, and I can feel my lips and chin, but faintly. It's more like altered sensation. I don't think I ever completely lost sensation. At the moment though I am getting these sharp throbbing pains (like there is a hot rod under my chin) that I find really painful. None of the pain meds help and I am not sure why it is. I think it's probably just nerves healing. I hope it goes away soon.
Yup the BUPA member orthodontist thing was complete BS. Smile Solutions is not one of their member orthodontists so don't expect to get any discounts. When I signed up they made it sound like anyone could be. In practice that's not actually true. No wonder there is so much distrust of insurers.

I think Patrishia is a great surgeon. I say that because of how quickly I healed (My swelling was almost completely gone by 1 week) and everything lines up quite well so far. Both sides of my face share equal levels of numbness/sensation which I think is also a sign that everything was balanced and in equal proportion. She's professional but easy to talk to. So I don't think you have anything to worry about in terms of the surgery.

Let me know if there is anything else you would like to know. How much are they moving your jaw? Mine was 6 mm.

[Clem]

[quote="SingleJawMelb"]Had my surgery this year via OMFS on Elizabeth Street, Melbourne. It's "not a partnership" but you can message me for surgeon details. But you should be going with your orthos recommendation.

Single jaw surgery, with wisdom teeth removal. $8100 total. Medicare won't rebate me (reciprocal card) bit it's normally about $1200 or so they pay. Private health - Medibank top extra, $1000 wisdom rebate and not sure on surgery as they have an issue with my account. You can find the item numbers online.

$2k for the gas man, oh which I paid $750.

I didn't pay hospital fees because I'm an international student and I have Overseas Student health corner.

It's prob not worth getting private health with extras (dental) unless you need surgery cause they will only pay $1k after the first year.

Anyone had jaw surgery done via public system?[/quote]



Also, can I ask, do you know if OSHC (Allianz Global Assistance Oversea Student Health Cover) will pay for the hospital fees?


Thanks

[fullbald]

Let me know if there is anything else you would like to know. How much are they moving your jaw? Mine was 6 mm.

Thanks for the heads up for the treatment duration. Dr. David Austin did look at my teeth and said that my treatment should be less than 18 months, so fingers crossed, I hope it is true.
Congrats, it’s amazing that you had all feelings back already in week 2. Most of ppl would struggle getting feelings back in certain areas. I think it just shows how good Patricia is.
Patricia didn’t tell me how much movement I will be needing, I guess it’s probably too soon to tell. She did say that my cause of underbite is due to the undeveloped upper jaw. Depends on how my teeth work with braces, I may get away with a single maxilla advancement surgery, however be prepared for double jaw surgery (upper move forward, under move back) and a geniolplasty as well if its double jaw.
Was yours double jaw or single jaw? I am trying to buy some syringes and ice packs for the post-surgery healing, but I cannot find anything decent on the internet. Where did you get yours from?
I think its probably too soon to ask this questions as your body is still healing, but did you notice any skin sagging or flatten nose?
It’s good to hear that the healing is going well for you.

[iceman89]

[quote="fullbald"][quote="iceman89"]
Let me know if there is anything else you would like to know. How much are they moving your jaw? Mine was 6 mm.[/quote]

Thanks for the heads up for the treatment duration. Dr. David Austin did look at my teeth and said that my treatment should be less than 18 months, so fingers crossed, I hope it is true.
Congrats, it’s amazing that you had all feelings back already in week 2. Most of ppl would struggle getting feelings back in certain areas. I think it just shows how good Patricia is.
Patricia didn’t tell me how much movement I will be needing, I guess it’s probably too soon to tell. She did say that my cause of underbite is due to the undeveloped upper jaw. Depends on how my teeth work with braces, I may get away with a single maxilla advancement surgery, however be prepared for double jaw surgery (upper move forward, under move back) and a geniolplasty as well if its double jaw.
Was yours double jaw or single jaw? I am trying to buy some syringes and ice packs for the post-surgery healing, but I cannot find anything decent on the internet. Where did you get yours from?
I think its probably too soon to ask this questions as your body is still healing, but did you notice any skin sagging or flatten nose?
It’s good to hear that the healing is going well for you.[/quote]

Mine was single lower jaw surgery for overbite. I had the option of doing double jaw plus genioplasty (at he start of the treatment) but i chose not to mainly because the single jaw surgery was going to fix most of the functional issues and also because i wanted to try and limit any major changes to my appearance.

I wouldnt worry too much about the supplies post op. I got syringes and ice packs from the hospital. I also got a special mouth wash, medication etc. I didnt actually end up using the syringe because the hospital staff encouraged me to use my mouth as much as possible. I dont know but it might be different for double jaw. But personally i think the only thing to concentrate on is the food. Get a pack of straws (preferably the larger ones you get from Boost juice) and a variety of liquid food (atleast enough to last you 4 days). Get a good blender. (Tip: If you are not alergic to peanuts i recommend chucking a couple of teaspoons of peanut butter into any smoothies etc to up your calary intake). There are a couple of good youtube videos about sort of stuff u can have after surgery.

In terms of the sagging skin i had the opposite. The skin feels stretched around the chin area. It makes sense in my case given that my lower jaw was advanced. It might be different in your case because you have an underbite. There was some skin shedding in the first 3 weeks but i has more or less stopped now.

I thought my nose looked disproportionately larger and somewhat crooked prior to surgery. Now it actually looks normal and less crooked in prportion to my face.

On the topic of appearance its hard to say what the exact change in appearance is because our surgeries are different. What i can say is that your face and facial features will prolly look more balanced.