What Determines the Cost of Liposuction in NYC
Liposuction is quoted on a personalized basis for each case. This page explains what sets the number, how the quote is itemized, and how the practice handles deposits, revisions, financing and insurance.
The short answer.
Liposuction is quoted per case, not per area. What a liposuction case costs is settled at consultation, after Dr. Smith examines you, understands what you want changed, and works out what the operation actually involves: which areas are treated and how large they are, whether the case is a first operation or a revision, how long it will take in the operating room, what anesthesia it requires, and whether skin tightening is added to it.
The quote you receive is itemized into three parts: a surgeon's fee, a facility fee and an anesthesia fee. Every post-operative visit is included in it. The quote is valid for 30 days, and a 10 percent deposit is taken when you book a date.
Consultation with Dr. Smith is $500. It is applied toward any procedure you book, and it is never waived. That appointment is where both your surgical plan and your itemized quote come from, so it is worth arriving with your questions written down.
This page explains each input that moves the number, and what the practice's policies are on deposits, revisions, financing and insurance. It does not publish figures, because the figures follow from the specifics of a case and those specifics are not knowable from a web page.
What determines the cost of a liposuction case.
Five things move a liposuction quote: the number and size of the areas treated, whether the case is primary or a revision, how long the operation takes, the anesthesia the case requires, and whether skin tightening is added. Almost everything else follows from those five.
The number and size of the areas
Treating more areas costs more, but not in a straight line and not by a fixed amount per area. Areas that sit next to each other, the flanks and the lower back for example, are often addressed as one continuous piece of work through shared access points. Areas at opposite ends of the body require repositioning the patient, redraping, and separate access, which adds time that adjacent areas do not. Size matters as much as count. An abdomen on a smaller frame and an abdomen on a larger frame are the same word and a different operation.
Why a per-area price list cannot answer your question
A per-area price list assumes that an area is a fixed unit of work. It is not. The same named area takes a different amount of operating room time in different bodies, because the volume of fat differs, the fibrousness of the tissue differs, the skin quality differs, and what the patient is asking for differs. Operating room time is the thing being paid for, so a list that prices areas rather than time cannot tell a patient what their own case costs. That is why this practice quotes after an examination rather than before one, and why the interactive area selector that used to sit on this page has been retired.
Primary or revision
A revision costs more than a primary case of the same description, and it usually takes longer. Tissue that has been operated on before contains scar. Scar has to be released before contour can be changed, and released carefully, because the tissue planes are no longer clean and the remaining fat is unevenly distributed. Dr. Smith uses VASER ultrasound-assisted liposuction in virtually every liposuction case, and in revision it is non-negotiable, because breaking up scar is what makes a revision correctable at all. Revision cases also take more planning before the operation and closer attention after it.
Operative time
Operative time is what links the three fees together. The surgeon's fee reflects the work and the time that work takes. The facility fee and the anesthesia fee are both driven substantially by how long the operating room and the anesthesiologist are in use. A case that runs longer costs more on all three lines, which is why the estimate of operative time made at consultation is central to the quote rather than incidental to it.
The anesthesia the case requires
The anesthesia a case requires depends on how much work is being done and where. Smaller abdominal liposuction cases can be performed awake under local anesthesia, with a nurse and a technician present. Larger cases, multi-area cases and cases combined with other procedures are performed under general anesthesia or IV sedation, administered by a board-certified anesthesiologist. A case that needs an anesthesiologist carries an anesthesia fee. Which of these applies to you is a clinical decision made at consultation on the basis of safety, not a menu choice made on the basis of price.
Whether skin tightening is added
Skin that will not retract on its own changes the operation, and therefore the quote. Liposuction removes fat. On its own it does not remove skin. Where laxity is part of the problem, the plan may add a radiofrequency skin tightening device such as BodyTite, or an excisional procedure that removes skin directly. Both add operative time, and an excision is a different operation with its own recovery. VASER contributes some deep tissue tightening as part of the liposuction itself, which is one of the reasons it is used routinely here, but it is not a substitute for addressing significant laxity.
Combining liposuction with another procedure
Many patients ask about liposuction alongside something else, most often a tummy tuck or a fat transfer. Combining procedures under one anesthetic is usually less expensive in total than staging them separately, because operating room and anesthesia time is shared rather than duplicated. Whether combining is appropriate is a safety question before it is a cost question. Total operative time, total volume removed and your medical history all bear on it. The plan is settled first and the arithmetic follows.
Safety and the operating room.
Dr. Smith operates in the practice's own operating room, inside the office at 111 East 57th Street, and that facility is QUAD A accredited. Anesthesia for cases that require it is administered by a board-certified anesthesiologist. Dr. Smith is board-certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
VASER ultrasound-assisted liposuction is used in virtually every liposuction case here. One comparative study of suction-assisted and third-generation internal ultrasound-assisted lipoplasty documented 7.5 times less blood loss with the ultrasound-assisted technique, and the deep tissue effect contributes to contour. VASER is used in every revision case to break up scar, and in gynecomastia and flank liposuction, where the tissue is naturally fibrous. Power-assisted liposuction is also performed.
The practice requires no nicotine in any form for 4 weeks before surgery and 4 weeks after, and it tests for nicotine. Blood thinners, and supplements that act as blood thinners, are stopped 10 days before surgery, with that decision routed to the physician who prescribed them. Weight must be stable for 3 months before operating. These are conditions of proceeding rather than preferences.
Compression is worn for 4 weeks after liposuction. Chin liposuction is the exception: compression is worn for 48 hours straight, then at night for 5 nights. All post-operative visits are included in the quote, so seeing Dr. Smith about your result during recovery is not a separate charge.
Liposuction is surgery, and it carries risk. Bleeding, infection, contour irregularity, changes in sensation, fluid collection and the risks of anesthesia are all part of the discussion at consultation, weighed against your own medical history.
How the quote works.
The quote is a single document with three lines: the surgeon's fee, the facility fee and the anesthesia fee. All post-operative visits are included in it, so routine recovery care is not billed separately.
The quote is valid for 30 days. A 10 percent deposit is taken at booking, and that deposit holds the operating room date.
Financing
The practice works with CareCredit and Alphaeon Credit. Both are third-party medical financing companies that make their own credit decisions. The practice does not set their terms and does not offer in-house financing.
Insurance
Dr. Smith is out of network with all insurance plans; the practice helps patients use out-of-network benefits toward care. Liposuction performed to change body contour is a cosmetic procedure and is not a covered benefit.
Revisions
If a revision is needed within one year of surgery, Dr. Smith does not charge a surgeon's fee for it. The patient remains responsible for the anesthesia fee and the facility fee, because those are charges from the anesthesiologist and the operating room rather than from the surgeon.
What to ask about any quote
Ask what a quote includes and what it excludes. Specifically: whether the facility fee and the anesthesia fee are inside the number you were given or added to it; who administers the anesthesia and what their credentials are; where the operation takes place and whether that facility is accredited; how many post-operative visits are included; what the revision policy is and how long it runs; and how long the quote stays valid. Those six answers are what make one quote comparable to another.
The consultation
Consultation with Dr. Smith is $500, applied toward any procedure booked, and never waived. You leave it with a surgical plan and an itemized quote.
Your questions about liposuction costs.
How much does liposuction cost?
The practice does not publish a figure, because the figure follows from the specifics of a case. What a liposuction case costs depends on the number and size of the areas treated, whether it is a primary case or a revision, how long the operation takes, the anesthesia it requires, and whether skin tightening is added. You receive an itemized quote at consultation.
Why is there no cost calculator on this page any more?
Because it could not answer the question it appeared to answer. A per-area selector treats every area as a fixed unit of work, and an area is not a fixed unit of work. The same area takes a different amount of operating room time in different bodies. The page now explains what actually moves the number instead.
What is included in the quote?
Three fees, itemized: the surgeon's fee, the facility fee and the anesthesia fee. All post-operative visits are included, so routine recovery care is not billed separately.
How long is a quote valid?
Thirty days from the date it is issued.
What deposit is required to book surgery?
A 10 percent deposit, taken at booking. It holds the operating room date.
Is the consultation free?
No. Consultation with Dr. Smith is $500. It is applied toward any procedure you book, and it is never waived.
Does insurance cover liposuction?
Liposuction performed to change body contour is a cosmetic procedure and is not a covered benefit. Dr. Smith is out of network with all insurance plans; the practice helps patients use out-of-network benefits toward care.
What financing does the practice accept?
CareCredit and Alphaeon Credit. Both are third-party medical financing companies, and both make their own credit decisions. The practice does not offer in-house financing.
What happens if I need a revision?
Within one year of surgery, Dr. Smith does not charge a surgeon's fee for a revision. The patient remains responsible for the anesthesia fee and the facility fee, which are charges from the anesthesiologist and the operating room.
Does treating twice as many areas cost twice as much?
No. Cost does not scale in a straight line with the number of areas. Adjacent areas are often treated as one continuous piece of work through shared access points, while areas at opposite ends of the body require repositioning and separate access. The size of each area matters as much as how many there are.
Does a revision cost more than a first operation?
Usually, yes. Scar from the previous operation has to be released before contour can be changed, which takes longer and is why VASER is used in every revision case. Revision cases also take more planning beforehand and closer attention afterward.
Can liposuction be done awake to lower the cost?
Smaller abdominal liposuction cases can be performed awake under local anesthesia, with a nurse and a technician present, and a case done that way does not carry an anesthesiologist's fee. Whether your case can be done awake is a clinical decision about safety, not a cost decision. Larger cases and multi-area cases are performed under general anesthesia or IV sedation with a board-certified anesthesiologist.