Dedicated plastic surgery billing team ☎ 646.470.1863  |  Info@Avetalive.com
Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Billing

Billing built for the way plastic surgeons actually work.

Cosmetic and reconstructive cases don’t bill the same way. Your team is juggling cash-pay packages, CareCredit, insurance pre-authorization for reconstructive indications, global-period surgery rules, and staged procedures — often on the same patient. We speak that language natively.

Why a specialty team

General billing companies miss the money in plastic surgery.

Plastic surgery claims live on the edge of three rulebooks: payer medical-necessity policy for reconstructive work, cash-pay and financing workflows for cosmetic work, and surgical global-period rules that govern both. Missing a modifier, a pre-auth, or a global-period follow-up can silently erase thousands of dollars per case.

We staff plastic-surgery-trained coders and billers, not a general pool. Every case gets eyes that know why 15734 needs the right laterality modifier, why a 19318 reduction needs measured photos and symptomatology, and why a post-op visit in the 90-day global still needs to be captured for utilization — even when it doesn’t bill.

  • Cosmetic vs. reconstructive triage at charge entry, not after a denial.
  • Global-period discipline with modifier 24, 25, 58, 78, 79, 62, 80 usage audited.
  • Cash-pay & financing fluency — CareCredit, Alphaeon, PatientFi, Cherry, in-house plans.
  • ASC + surgeon coordination so facility and professional claims don’t collide.
  • Photo & consent documentation checked before claims go out.
How We Work

A workflow that matches how plastic surgery revenue actually arrives.

Cash, insurance, and hybrid cases — each gets its own lane.

1

Cosmetic & Cash-Pay

Quote creation, deposit tracking, CareCredit/Alphaeon/PatientFi settlement reconciliation, and clean cash-pay superbills for patients who want to pursue out-of-network reimbursement themselves.

2

Reconstructive & Insurance

Medical-necessity documentation prep, pre-authorization and peer-to-peer support, CPT/ICD-10 coding, clean claim submission, and appeals when payers push back on breast reduction, panniculectomy, blepharoplasty, rhinoplasty with functional indication, and skin cancer reconstruction.

3

Hybrid Cases

When a case has both components (e.g., panniculectomy with concurrent abdominoplasty, or reconstructive breast work with cosmetic augmentation), we split the billing correctly, document the non-covered portion, and capture the patient-responsible balance without blowing the insurance claim.

Coding Depth

The CPT & modifier world your practice lives in.

A sample of the procedures we code and bill every week. We’re not learning on your claims.

Reconstructive & covered indications

19318 reduction mammaplasty 19316 mastopexy 19340/19342 implant placement 19357 tissue expander 19364 free flap reconstruction 15734 TRAM/muscle flap 15777 ADM placement 15877 suction-assisted lipectomy (covered contexts) 15830+15847 panniculectomy + abdominoplasty 30400–30462 rhinoplasty (functional) 15100–15261 skin grafts 14000–14302 adjacent tissue transfer 67900–67924 eyelid/blepharoplasty (functional)

Cosmetic & cash-pay

breast augmentation cosmetic rhinoplasty liposuction (cosmetic) abdominoplasty (cosmetic) facelift / rhytidectomy brow lift otoplasty (adult cosmetic) brachioplasty / thigh lift neurotoxin & filler injectables non-surgical skin tightening

Modifier discipline that protects your revenue

  • 24 — unrelated E/M during postoperative period, properly documented.
  • 25 — significant, separately identifiable E/M on day of procedure.
  • 50 / RT / LT — bilateral and lateral procedures paid correctly on the first pass.
  • 51 / 59 / XS — multiple procedures and distinct procedural service, applied by rule.
  • 58 — staged or planned procedure within the global period.
  • 78 / 79 — unplanned return to OR vs. unrelated procedure in the global.
  • 62 / 66 / 80 / 82 — co-surgeon, team, and assistant-surgeon scenarios.
  • GA / GY / GZ — ABN/non-covered indicators when Medicare cosmetic rules apply.

CPT codes shown for illustration. Actual coding is driven by documentation and medical necessity on a per-case basis.

Pre-Authorization & Medical Necessity

We get reconstructive cases approved — and keep them approved.

The difference between a paid reconstructive claim and a denied one is almost always documentation submitted at the right moment, in the right format.

Breast reduction (19318)

Schnur scale calculations, measured removal grams, photographic documentation, symptom history (cervical/thoracic pain, intertrigo, grooving), trial of conservative therapy, and payer-specific criteria tracking (Aetna, BCBS, UHC, Cigna all differ).

Panniculectomy (15830)

BMI stability documentation, pannus grade, chronic intertrigo or cellulitis history, hygiene limitations, conservative treatment trial, and careful separation from any concurrent cosmetic abdominoplasty work.

Functional rhinoplasty / septoplasty

Objective obstruction documentation (NOSE score, rhinomanometry when available), failed medical management, CT findings, and correct bundling of 30520 with functional 30400-series coding.

Functional blepharoplasty (67904/67908)

Visual field testing with and without taping, margin reflex distance measurements, photographic documentation, and payer-specific threshold tracking.

Skin cancer reconstruction

Mohs coordination, pathology linkage, proper use of adjacent tissue transfer (14000–14302) vs. complex repair codes, and modifier usage when the reconstruction spans multiple anatomic sites.

Post-mastectomy reconstruction

WHCRA compliance tracking, staged-procedure coordination, tissue expander to implant exchanges, contralateral symmetry procedures, nipple-areola reconstruction, and 3D tattooing where billable.

Cash-pay & financing

Cosmetic revenue that actually reconciles.

Cosmetic cases have their own accounting reality: deposits, staged payments, financing platforms, refundable consult fees, package pricing, and out-of-network superbills that patients submit themselves.

We track every dollar from quote to collection and reconcile financing-platform settlements against your deposit register — so month-end actually closes cleanly.

  • Quote & deposit tracking integrated with your practice management system.
  • CareCredit, Alphaeon, PatientFi, Cherry settlement reconciliation.
  • Package-price accounting with procedure-level revenue recognition.
  • Cash-pay superbills formatted for patient out-of-network submissions.
  • Refund and cancellation workflows that don’t break your books.
  • Aesthetic product inventory billing (toxins, fillers, skincare) where applicable.
Facility & Team Billing

ASC, co-surgeon, and assistant scenarios without crossed wires.

ASC facility claims

Clean separation of professional and facility claims, ASC-specific HCPCS (including implants with pass-through eligibility), and coordinated denial work when the two claims touch the same payer.

Co-surgeon (modifier 62)

When a general surgeon and plastic surgeon share a case — mastectomy plus immediate reconstruction is the classic — we coordinate documentation across practices so neither claim gets denied for lack of operative note language.

Assistant surgeon (80/82/AS)

Correct modifier selection for MD vs. PA/NP assistants, teaching-hospital rules when 82 applies, and denial rework for payers that quietly stopped reimbursing assistants on specific codes.

What You Get Every Month

Numbers that tell you what’s actually happening.

Not a PDF of undifferentiated aging. A real conversation with a human who knows your practice.

Days in A/R

Broken out by cosmetic cash, reconstructive insurance, and hybrid cases.

First-Pass Yield

Percentage of claims paid on first submission, trended monthly.

Net Collection Rate

Against contracted rates, with payer-level breakdowns.

Denial Root Causes

Grouped by CARC/RARC with a closed-loop fix for each recurring pattern.

Pre-Auth Turnaround

Average time from submission to approval, by payer and procedure.

Global-Period Leakage

Visits that should have billed with modifier 24 / 79 and didn’t.

Cash-Pay Reconciliation

Deposits, financing settlements, refunds — tied to procedures.

Credentialing Status

Every provider, every payer, every expiration date visible in one place.

Plastic Surgery Clients

Trusted by plastic surgery practices.

“[Plastic surgery testimonial placeholder — to be replaced with an approved, attributed or anonymized quote from one of the three current plastic surgery clients.]”
— Practice Administrator, plastic surgery practice
“[Plastic surgery testimonial placeholder — consider a quote that highlights a reconstructive case approval or cash-pay reconciliation win.]”
— Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon
FAQ

Plastic surgery billing, answered plainly.

Do you work with my practice management software?

Most likely, yes. We regularly work inside Nextech, Modernizing Medicine (ModMed), PatientNow, Symplast, AdvancedMD, Kareo/Tebra, Athena, eClinicalWorks, and others. We integrate with your existing system rather than making you change platforms.

How is a cash-pay cosmetic case billed differently?

Cosmetic cases don’t go to insurance. Revenue comes from patient deposits, financing platforms (CareCredit, Alphaeon, PatientFi, Cherry), and direct payments. We track each dollar against the quoted procedure, reconcile financing settlements, and — for patients with out-of-network benefits who want to pursue reimbursement themselves — prepare a formatted superbill.

What happens when a payer denies a reconstructive case?

Every denial is investigated against the payer’s specific medical-necessity policy. We prepare appeals with the exact documentation that payer requires (Schnur charts, photos, symptom history, failed conservative therapy, etc.), coordinate peer-to-peer reviews with the surgeon, and track the pattern so the next similar case ships with the right paperwork from the start.

How do you handle hybrid cases (reconstructive + cosmetic)?

We split the billing correctly. The reconstructive portion is submitted to insurance with proper documentation; the cosmetic portion is quoted, deposited, and collected from the patient. The operative note, financial consent, and ABN (where relevant) all need to reflect the split — we build that into the pre-op workflow.

What does onboarding look like?

Typically 2–4 weeks. We start with a 30-day billing review at no charge so you can see what we see, then — if we’re the right fit — we move into credentialing review, PM/EHR access, fee schedule loading, and a parallel-run period where we work beside your existing team before cutting over.

Do you serve practices outside New York?

Yes. We’re based in New City, NY, with a coordinated team in India. We bill for practices across the United States and are set up for multi-state licensure, payer enrollment, and state-specific Medicaid rules.

How is pricing structured?

Predictable fee structure based on scope. No per-denial fees, no surprise line items. Exact pricing depends on volume, case mix (cosmetic vs. reconstructive split), and scope of services — we’ll quote after the free billing review.

Let’s look at your last 30 days of claims.

Free plastic-surgery-specific billing review. No obligation, no software change required.

Request a Billing Review