Estimating the cost of hand and wrist surgery is a difficult question to answer without a proper clinical assessment. The item numbers used depend on the specifics of a patient’s condition and presentation. It also depends on the approach. For example, an open operation may use a different item number to an arthroscopic or “key-hole” operation.
However every patient should be aware that there is no hand or wrist operation that you have to pay for in Australia, if you have a Medicare card. As Dr. Sungaran is appointed at two public Hospitals (Concord and Canterbury Hospitals), this means that a patient could have their surgery with no charge as Medicare will cover you for the operation and hospital stay. So no one should feel pressured to pay for an operation as you always have this option. Seeing how astronomical the cost of health care is in other countries, we truly are lucky to have the Medicare system in Australia.
Having said this, there are factors you have to consider. The public system will have a waiting list, and currently for elective hand or wrist surgical operations the waiting list is about 11-12 months. Most public hospitals are also teaching hospitals and Dr. Sungaran is heavily involved in the mentoring of Surgeons. He will teach other Surgeons to operate. This means the operation may be performed by another Surgeon, but Dr. Sungaran will be there as well. This allows them to learn the nuances of how Dr. Sungaran performs a particular operation so he or she can eventually be able to carry out these operations unsupervised.
If a patient does choose to go through the private system, then there is often only a minimal waiting time. It is usually a matter of finding a convenient date that works for you and it could be within a few weeks. The surgery will be performed with an assistant present, but the operation is by Dr Sungaran. The cost of the surgery will be estimated prior to booking, with a quote that includes the Surgeon and Assistant fee. Operations require an Anaesthetist and their fee is seperate to this. If a patient is not in a health fund and wishes to pay to go through a private hospital for the surgery, then we can also find out an “uninsured” quote from the Hospital. This is based on the complexity of the operation, and will be an estimate for the cost of theatre fees, equipment, medication and hospital admission. The Hospital fee is in addition to the Surgeon fee, Assistant fee and Anaesthetist fee. Medicare will cover some of these fees, but there will still be an out-of-pocket cost.
This process can be quite confusing if you have not been through it so please contact us or feel free to call the office on (02) 95252055 for more information and any clarification.