Board Certification and Surgeon's Fee for Aesthetic Rhinoplasty

Blasberg EA, Golden J, Rubin S, Spiegel JH.

What this paper says

Across 67 US surgeons found by internet search, those certified by the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery charged an average of 10,550 dollars against 8,524 dollars for other certifications.

Overview

Rhinoplasty fees vary with surgeon density, experience, local economics and patient demand. Several organizations certify surgeons claiming rhinoplasty expertise. The study asked whether a specific board certification or level of experience correlates with a higher fee. An internet search covered seven US metropolitan areas using the search terms rhinoplasty plus the city name, and top results were surveyed.

Sections of note

Internet survey of 67 surgeons across seven US metropolitan areas.
Data collected included fee, years of experience, annual rhinoplasty volume, board certification and demographics.
Average price for facial plastic board certified surgeons was 10,550.00 plus or minus 3,722.10 dollars.
Average price for surgeons with other board certifications was 8,524.50 plus or minus 2,816.30 dollars, P equals 0.0142.
Annual rhinoplasty volume correlated significantly with fee, r equals 0.37773, P equals 0.032.
West Coast surgeons in Los Angeles charged 12,059.09 plus or minus 3,014.53 dollars.
Mid United States surgeons charged 8,316.07 plus or minus 2,449.43 and East Coast surgeons 9,152.86 plus or minus 3,639.78, P equals 0.0047.
On multivariable regression controlling for volume and region, the facial plastic certification still predicted higher fees, P equals 0.0230.

What it means for a patient

Fee varied with certification, case volume and geography, with Los Angeles the most expensive region surveyed.
Higher fees were associated with higher case volume, but the study measures price, not results.
Nothing here links fee or certification to outcome or complication rate.
Only 67 surgeons appearing in top internet search results were surveyed, which favours those who invest in web visibility.

Why this paper matters

Rhinoplasty is paid out of pocket and patients often use price as a proxy for quality. This study identifies what actually drives price. Whether any of those drivers predicts a better result is unmeasured.

Terms

Board certification: formal accreditation by a specialty board.
ABFPRS: the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
Multivariable regression: a statistical method adjusting for several factors at once.
Correlation coefficient r: a measure of how strongly two variables move together.
Surgeon density: the number of surgeons practicing in a given area.

Summary written by rhinoplasty.cc from the abstract, 2026-09-09; not medical advice. The authors' own abstract follows.

From the abstract

“Elective rhinoplasty surgeons' fees vary considerably and are influenced by geographic surgeon density, surgeon's experience, local economic factors, patient demand, and other factors. The American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the American Society of Plastic Surgery, and other organizations…”

Excerpt; the full abstract is on PubMed.