Before I answer what is a “Cosmetic Marketplace”, let me explain what is not. It is not just another plastic surgery website. It is also not an online store to purchase cosmetic products like creams and lotions. It is new way to purchase cosmetic surgery and cosmetic services in an intuitive, transparent manner to give you, the customer, more knowledge, more control, better care, better prices and ultimately better value.

This is Mary.  Mary decides that she’d like to have cosmetic surgery. Like most patients, Mary searched the internet looking for surgeons and cosmetic surgery prices.  After going from one site to another, to her surprise, she was unable to find any specific information about the prices. She even called several plastic surgeons offices and one after another they explained that they can only give her a price after coming into the office for a consultation. For each consultation, she got ready, drove to the doctor’s office, waited patiently for the doctor and by the time she’s done, half a day had gone by.  And to compare prices, this process would need to repeat itself several more times. Mary thinks to herself – there’s got to be a better way.

And now there is! Introducing the STARS Plastic Surgery cosmetic marketplace where a potential cosmetic surgery patient can price out the exact operation before the consultation.  This website is an excellent educational tool for patients to understand the different variations of a procedure, what makes an operation more or less complicated, all of this tied to transparent pricing algorithm that includes the full cost of the procedure including the surgeons fee, implant costs, ancillary supplies, implants, anesthesia and facilities as well as a scheduled date for the procedure. A simple checkout process completes the transaction.  Welcome to a new way to purchase cosmetic surgery.

How did the Cosmetic Marketplace get started?

I am a plastic surgeon. Every week, I meet prospective patients who visit our practice looking for information about cosmetic surgery. Their journey typically starts online where they search for plastic surgeons around their area. They visit each plastic surgeon’s beautifully designed website where they can peruse before and after photos, reviews and pages of description of each procedure. However, there is a void when it comes to trying to figure out the general price of the procedure and then even more difficult, the actual price of the procedure that is tailored to their individual situation.

Why is that? Plastic surgeons have always preached to their patients that each patient’s situation is so unique that the actual details of the surgical procedure can only be determined after a detailed consultation. While that maybe true, that does not explain why even after the consultation, a patient cannot compare the price of having that same procedure performed by different doctors and the experience and qualifications of each doctor in performing that procedure.

Why is it that you can price, compare and buy a plane ticket online going from New York City to Paris flying business class for a specific date and time but you cannot properly price a breast augmentation with silicone implants and a facelift? The time has come for not just transparent pricing in cosmetic medicine but for an interactive pricing system that allows patients to price the exact procedure that they’d like to have, choose the dates for surgery and pay for it online while the entire transactional process is as clear and transparent as buying a plane ticket. This is the vision of the Cosmetic Marketplace.

This website is a working concept and will continue to be for sometime, I can assure you that the surgical procedure is not. Each surgeon at STARS Plastic Surgery is fully trained and adapt at performing your procedure. We don’t just adhere to the national standards but we are pioneers. We at STARS Plastic Surgery are committed to providing high quality service to you and part of that is to constantly examine and improve our processes. We hope that you like what we have done and we would love to talk to you about your experience with STARS Plastic Surgery and our vision for the Cosmetic Marketplace to make the process of obtaining cosmetic surgery clear and transparent.

Sincerely,

Rodney Chan, MD