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1112 W. 6th St, Suite 210, Lawrence, Kansas 66044

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5120 SW 28th St
Topeka, K S 66614

Time is Money – Operating Rooms

Picture of DR. SCOTT THELLMAN
DR. SCOTT THELLMAN

Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon, M.D.

It’s an old saying, but it’s true.  Time is money, especially in an operating room.  When you pay for many cosmetic procedures that are done in an operating room setting, there will be a “facility fee” charge.  So what are you paying for?  

People

Consider not just the operating room but everyone that you contact during your time at a surgery center or hospital:

  • The persons the check you in at the front desk
  • The nurses get you settled in the Pre-op area, start your IV, give you medications, etc.
  • The OR personnel- a scrub nurse and 1 or 2 circulating nurses
  • The nurses in the post-op area, who care for you from the time you leave the OR until you leave the facility
  • The techs that clean, organize, and sterilize the instruments after your case
  • The business office staff that keep track of all this

All of these people are trained professionals, held to very high standards, and in high demand.  Keeping them employed means paying a good salary, which they deserve.

Equipment

Operating rooms are expensive!  They’re the things you can see (OR tables, anesthesia machines, OR lights, etc.) and even more that you can’t (special ventilation systems, special flooring, medical gas lines, fire suppression, electrical, and more).  How much does an OR cost to build?  The latest estimates to build an OR facility use a figure of $1.4 million per operating room.  

When you’re in the operating room as a patient you are essentially “renting” the use of this expensive space.  

Supplies, Medications

When you’re in a facility a lot of supplies are used.  Some are cheap, like bandaids, but others can be surprisingly pricey.  The band-aids, medications, sutures, surgical drapes and gowns, and others all add up. 

Our cosmetic patients don’t see the individual prices of all these items as they are all bundled into the facility fee.  These overall fees are based on the time spent in the OR- bigger procedures take longer and therefore use more supplies, equipment, and staff time.  We do our best to keep these prices as low as we can but still provide the highest quality of care available.  We just think it’s important for patients to understand these costs!

A Note to Our Valued Patients

We are aware of a recent news article regarding a potential data breach involving another clinic in the Lawrence area.

Due to the similarity in our names, there has been some understandable confusion, and we want to take a moment to clarify:

  1. Lawrence Plastic Surgery is not affiliated with LMH or Plastic Surgery Specialists of Lawrence, the clinic referenced in the article.
  2. None of our patient data or photographs were involved in the reported breach.
  3. We take patient privacy extremely seriously. All photographs in our office are stored on a secure, encrypted computer that is never connected to the internet. Access is strictly limited to only three authorized staff members, including Dr. Thellman. These records cannot be accessed remotely, ensuring an added layer of protection for your most sensitive information.
 

We appreciate the trust you place in us and understand how unsettling data breaches can be. Please rest assured: your privacy and security remain our top priorities, as they have been for over 30 years.

If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to contact our office directly at 785 843-7677. We’re here to help.

Warm regards,
Dr. Thellman & the Team at Lawrence Plastic Surgery