So, assuming it’s within budget, what exactly buys $200,000?
The cost of surgery depends on several factors, including how complicated it is and how many areas of the face are treated. A facelift can include a brow lift, lower and upper eyelid surgery, rhinoplasty, lip lift, mid-facelift, neck lift, and a host of other add-ons — fat grafting, facial implants, buccal fat pair removal, and skin lasers — all of which add thousands to the final bill.
Then there’s post-operative care, which can include 24/7 direct access to your surgeon and home nurses. dr. Chia Chi Kao, a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon known for his scar-free endoscopic “ponytail facelift,” which involves making incisions behind the hairline, runs an outpatient and aftercare center with suites where patients can recover using a hyperbaric oxygen chamber.
“It’s like a luxury hotel,” says Lily Bell, 48, a Beverly Hills esthetician who spends five days and four nights in downtown Dr. Kao stayed and spent $212,000 on her face and neck lift and recovery.
Diane Pizzoli, 68, a fashion designer in Roseland, NJ, had several face-lift consultations with doctors, some of whom gave her estimates of nearly six figures, before seeing Dr. White chose to do her surgery this winter.
“Some of these other doctors were really self-promoting and bragging about celebrities who have done them,” said Ms. Pizzoli, who ended up spending $50,000 on her facelift and neck lift and eyelid surgery and recovery.
“I still look like myself, only much younger,” she said. “A higher fee does not always go hand in hand with a successful result.”
