Are you thinking of having surgery but you don’t know where to start? You’ve come to the right place.
Keep reading as our Practice Manager Jessica outlines the important things you should be checking off your pre-surgical to-do list.
Dr Moncrieff’s current lead times
The following are the lead times you can plan for in terms of consultations and surgery:
- Consultation: it is currently around a 5 week wait to see Dr Moncrieff for a consultation (but see details of how to access a fast track appointment below). As of today, our next appointment is early Dec 2024 and then we have availability in mid-January, but this changes by the minute (and you can ask to be put on the waiting list for an earlier appointment).
- Breast surgery: for stand alone breast augmentation and reductions, we can generally secure a date at the hospital within 4-6 weeks after your consultation.
- Tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) or combined surgery: If you are considering a tummy tuck or combined procedure (such as post pregnancy surgery or post weight-loss lift), then we have to allocate a longer operating session to your surgery, so that can take up to 2-4 months after you see Dr Moncrieff.
This process may be fast tracked if you have a Vectra surgery simulation with our Practice Manager (subject to existing surgical bookings) and also if you let our team know you are hoping for earlier surgery, they can put you on the waiting lists for an earlier appointment if someone else changes their dates.
So if right now you are thinking about breast surgery, assume if you ring today you could expect the wait for surgery to be around 6-8 weeks. And for tummy tucks or combined surgery it will be around 2-4 months.
Want access to our fast-track consultations? If you are looking at a breast augmentation, lift or reduction then we ask that you book a $100 Vectra surgery simulation appointment with our Practice Manager, generally within 1 week of calling us. This can be valuable if you aren’t sure what surgery might look like and it has the added bonus where we can fast track a consultation with Dr Moncrieff if you wish to proceed and the $100 is rebated off the cost of the appointment with him.
I'm still on a weight loss journey - should I see Dr Moncrieff now or later?
Dr Moncrieff likes to see you close to when you are thinking about the actual surgery. This is because a lot can change in even a few months in terms of your health, private insurance coverage, Medicare rebates, etc. As a result, our quotes are only valid for 3 months. For more information about our BMI guidelines and maximising safety and results, please visit our article here.
Private Health Insurance
We outline all costs associated with each procedure on our website. You will notice the cost for surgery is often thousands of dollars lower if you have private health insurance for procedures covered by Medicare (generally breast reductions and tummy tucks and breast lifts). This is because the health funds may contribute, primarily to the cost of the hospital stay.
If you are thinking of signing up to a fund, consider the waiting period and if the policy will cover the item number. To read more, visit our Choosing a Health Fund article.
If fund coverage is key to you being able to afford surgery, I recommend making sure your fund will cover the Medicare item number for the procedure you are considering (the Medicare numbers are on our website). Always take a written note of the date, time and who you spoke to as fund have been known to try to deny coverage even after their teams have told our patients they are covered!
The popular months
When you are planning the timing of your surgery think about how it will fit around your schedule of work, children and also weather!
The most popular times of the year for surgery are the warmer months and holiday breaks such as before Christmas and school holidays. Beware of the following months that book up quickly:
- April – school holidays
- July – school holidays
- September to Oct – school holidays
- December – before the Christmas break
Surgical garment
For any surgery whether it is breast or body, you are required to wear a surgical garment for 6 weeks following the operation. The garment provides vital compression to help reduce swelling, help with healing and obtain the shape you desire. For this reason, you will need to consider if the garment will get in the way of weddings, special occasions and even the weather (winter is easier!).
Hot tip: tummy tuck garments cover more of the body, so you may want to consider the cooler months for recovery.
Cost of Dr Moncrieff's consultations
Dr Moncrieff's fee is $350 and if you bring a GP referral, you get back just over $80 from Medicare. If you have had a $100 Vectra breast surgery simulation first, that $100 is rebated off his fee.
Ready to book your consultation? The 5 key things you need to do first!
Please be aware due to considerable demand, our breast and body surgery appointments can only be secured if you have completed the following steps:
- Visited the page on the website about your procedure and checked the cost of the surgery is within your budget
- Your weight is stable and you have checked that your body mass index (or BMI) is ideally over 18.5 and under 28 (with a maximum of 30) to minimise risks of surgery. We ask that breast augmentation patients have a BMI of 25 or below. More on this, and a calculator is here.
- You are ready for surgery within 6 months (as our quotes are only valid for 3 months after your consultation). This may mean checking the waiting period on your health insurance.
- If you are wanting to claim a Medicare rebate for part of the consultation fee (or the surgery if eligible), please ask your GP for a referral.
- And you have your credit card ready to pay the consultation fee.
Once you have these important things in place call our friendly team on 4920 7700 or send us a message using the contact form below.
Not ready to book yet? The best time for surgery is when it is the right time for YOU. So in the meantime, enjoy our website information for breast and body procedures including before and after photos, cost information and animated videos of the most popular procedures.
Want to join our mailing list? We also provide more information to those on our mailing list, so send us a message below and let us know the procedure you are most interested in. It also means you get to see more patient journeys and hear about our special offers and upcoming events.
Want to follow us on social media? We publish hundreds of patient results, blogs and other helpful update to our social media every year. Follow us on Instagram or Facebook to stay in touch.
Blog Author:
Jessica Laing, Practice Manager, Hunter Plastic Surgery
About Jessica
Jessica joined our team in 2010 and has worked very closely with Dr Moncrieff as Patient Manager and then Practice Manager since 2015. Her commitment and care for patients is legendary. She has even won awards for her focus on service including at the 2023 Stevie Global Awards for Women, 2020 Stevie Global Sales and Customer Service Awards as Young Customer Service Professional of the Year, as the Australasian Practice Manager of the Year at the 2019 MyFaceMyBody Global Awards and at the 2017 Lake Macquarie Business Excellence Awards.
