What Is The Average Cost of a Mastectomy?
For performing a mastectomy surgery on a patient, the typical expense ranges from 11000 USD to 16000 USD. The average cost of the whole procedure, the average cost of mastectomy is 32,650 USD depending on the geographical region the surgery is being performed, the fee structure of the surgeon and how complex the whole process is.
What Kinds Of Mastectomy Are Performed?
The mastectomy surgery is done to remove a single or both the breasts in a patient who has been suffering from breast cancer or is carrying a high risk of developing breast cancer:
Simple Mastectomy: Usually a simple mastectomy is recommended when you have developed a lump or a small tumor and the cancer has not yet spread to the lymph nodes. The procedure will follow a general anesthesia on the patient and then the surgeon will remove the entire breast along with the nipple and the areola. You will have to stay at least a night at the hospital after you undergo this surgery.
Radical Mastectomy: When the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes near the breast, the modified radical mastectomy will have to be performed. This procedure includes general anesthesia on the patient, and then the surgeon removes the breast, the nipple, areola and the lymph nodes. You have to stay typically for a couple of days at the hospital after the surgery is over.
Skin-Sparing Mastectomy: If you are undergoing a skin-sparing mastectomy, then the surgeon removes the breast, the nipple and the areola, but does not touch the skin. The skin is left in place within six hours of the mastectomy surgery, the breast reconstruction process begins. Both the procedures consumes up to a minimum of six hours. After the reconstruction is done, the patient has to stay back at the hospital for at least 5 days to recover. A longer stay than that might will be required.
How is The Cost Of Mastectomy Divided?
Mastectomy is often covered under the health insurance a patient holds. After the health insurance coverage, the expenses that the patient has to go through includes visits to the doctor, paying for the lab results and the drugs and one may even have to coinsurance about 10% to 50% of the surgery. Health insurance can even cover all the above mentioned requirements. Some insurance policies or insurers, put restriction on the insurance bond in order to prevent mastectomy and breast cancer. Some policies consider prophylactic mastectomy to be a medical necessity for the patients who has several risk factors and kinds of gene mutation which may lead to breast cancer.
One might not always be under an insurance coverage for mastectomy. If your health insurance does not cover the procedure for mastectomy, typically it will cost more $15000 to $55000. The amount mentioned does not include the procedure for breast reconstruction. Hospitals in Tennessee have estimated the cost for a bilateral prophylactic mastectomy and the surgery amounts to a little more than 15000 USD. In other places like Saint Elizabeth Regional Medical Research Centre, for a simple mastectomy you will be charged within 14000 USD to 37000 USD. The amount of $15000 to $32000 includes the process of removing the affected breast tissue along with the removal of the nipple and the lymph nodes. You have to at least pay an amount of 37000 USD when you are undergoing the mastectomy including the procedures like removing breast tissue, nipple, the underlying muscles and lymph nodes. The cost may shoot up to 55000 USD depending on the complication of the surgical procedure. Along with this, the fees of your doctors and the cost for performing the pathological tests will add another 2000 USD to the bill.
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