The cost of private thoracic surgery — and the cost of waiting.
If you're looking at this page, you're weighing something important: whether to wait on the NHS or act now. This page gives you honest, complete pricing information so you can make that decision with clarity, not anxiety. No hidden extras. No surprises.
When you search for private surgery costs, the question you're actually asking is usually something like: "I've been given an NHS waiting time of months. My condition is affecting my life right now. If I go private, what am I looking at, and is it worth it?"
That is a completely reasonable question — and the answer deserves to be given without jargon, without pressure, and without making you feel that asking about cost is somehow inappropriate. Cost is a legitimate part of a legitimate decision.
The NHS is excellent and always remains available to you — going private doesn't change that. But for many patients, the difference between a 3-month NHS wait and a 1-week private appointment is the difference between managing a condition and actually resolving it.
"Every patient deserves to know, before their first appointment, what they're likely to face financially. I've always believed in transparent pricing — both because it's respectful to patients and because hidden costs are the thing that most undermines trust in private healthcare."
— Mr Marco Scarci, Consultant Thoracic Surgeon, FRCS(Eng) FCCP FACS FEBTSThese are all-in estimates covering surgeon fees, anaesthesia, hospital stay, theatre, and standard post-operative review. A detailed written breakdown is provided before any booking.
Collapsed lung repair · VATS bullectomy · Pleurodesis · Pleural biopsy
£8,000–£20,000 Total all-in cost · depends on procedure complexityVATS lobectomy · Wedge resection · Segmentectomy · Mediastinal lymph node dissection
£20,000–£32,000 Total all-in cost · most common range for VATS lobectomyRib plating (ORIF/SSRF) · Thymectomy · Pectus correction · Chest wall tumour · Empyema · Diaphragmatic plication
£14,000–£45,000+ Total all-in cost · highly variable by procedureNeed a written estimate for your specific procedure?Send your existing scan results and we will prepare a personalised cost breakdown before your consultation — no obligation required.
Request an Estimate →The most common source of billing anxiety in private healthcare is not the headline price — it's the unexpected charges that arrive afterwards. Here is a complete breakdown.
These are anonymised real cases from recent London procedures. All figures are total all-in costs including surgeon, hospital, anaesthesia, and post-operative review.
VATS surgery for recurrent pneumothorax (collapsed lung). Third episode — second within 6 months. Operated within 5 days of first appointment. 2-night stay, no complications. Back at work in 10 days.
Early-stage right lower lobe lung cancer — VATS lobectomy and mediastinal lymph node sampling. Confirmed diagnosis to surgery in 11 days. 3-night stay. 6-week recovery to full activity. Fully insured — zero out-of-pocket cost beyond excess.
Complex chest wall tumour requiring rib resection and Ovitex reconstruction. Multi-stage procedure with extended recovery. Seen within 4 days of first contact. Full written estimate provided before commitment.
If you have private medical insurance — through your employer or independently — thoracic surgery is covered as a medically necessary procedure by all major UK insurers. We handle the authorisation process for you.
Most insured patients are worried about whether their policy covers their specific procedure, and whether they need to do anything complicated to access it. The answer to the first question is almost always yes. The answer to the second is: we do it for you.
Our team will contact your insurer directly, confirm coverage, obtain pre-authorisation, and liaise throughout your care. You focus on your health. We manage the paperwork.
Call us or book online. We check your policy and confirm coverage before your consultation — so you know where you stand before spending anything.
Once a treatment plan is agreed, we apply for pre-authorisation from your insurer on your behalf. We handle the clinical coding and justification documentation.
After your procedure, we bill your insurer directly. You pay only your policy excess. No chasing, no invoices to forward, no reimbursement forms.
Not sure if your policy covers your specific procedure? Use our online checker or call us — we verify within 24 hours.
Check My Insurance Cover →Many patients choose to self-fund — either because they don't have private insurance, or because they want to move faster than the pre-authorisation process allows. Self-pay patients receive exactly the same surgical care, the same surgeon, and the same outcomes.
For the most common procedures, we offer all-inclusive fixed-price packages. One number, covering everything. No ambiguity about what "surgeon fees only" means or what happens if you stay an extra night. The price you see is the price you pay.
Before you book surgery, you receive a complete written cost breakdown — surgeon, anaesthesia, hospital, imaging, everything that is expected. You review it, ask questions, and only then confirm. No one is ever surprised by an invoice they didn't see coming.
Many employers offer healthcare budgets or will reimburse medical costs on request. We provide itemised invoices and clinical letters in whatever format your employer or accountant requires — making reimbursement straightforward.
Most self-pay surgical procedures qualify for interest-free monthly payment plans through our partner. No credit card required. Approval typically within 24 hours. Surgery proceeds as planned once approved.
When patients think about the cost of private surgery, they often frame it purely as a financial transaction. But the question that better captures the decision is: what does the cost of not acting look like?
For lung cancer, the relationship between time-to-surgery and survival is well-established. For recurrent pneumothorax, each additional collapse carries risk and requires A&E admission with its own disruption and cost. For conditions like slipping rib syndrome or TOS where NHS waiting lists stretch to 12–18 months, the impact on work, quality of life, and mental health over that period is rarely costed but very real.
This is not a sales pitch — the NHS is excellent and remains an entirely valid choice. But for patients who have the means to consider private care, the comparison should be made clearly and honestly.
| What you're comparing | NHS pathway | Private with Mr Scarci |
|---|---|---|
| First appointment | 6–18 weeks typical outpatient wait | Within 1 week of contact |
| GP referral needed? | Yes — mandatory entry point | No — contact directly |
| Surgeon consistency | Varies — seen by different team members | Mr Scarci personally, throughout |
| Time to surgery (from referral) | 3–12+ months depending on condition | 3–5 days from confirmed plan |
| Hospital room | Shared ward | Private room, dedicated nursing |
| Biopsy results communicated | Letter sent; discussed at next clinic | Mr Scarci calls you within 24 hours |
| Between-appointment access | Via GP or triage nurse | Direct to Mr Scarci |
| Cost to patient | Free at point of use | Covered by insurance, or self-pay with finance |
"I spent three months on an NHS waiting list for a lung cancer consultation, watching a shadow on my scan that nobody could tell me anything about. My wife eventually said: just go private. The total cost was £24,000 — covered by our Bupa policy. From first phone call to surgery was eleven days. I genuinely believe we caught it at exactly the right time. That is not something you can put a price on."
A consultation costs £300–£400. It gives you a clear diagnosis, a treatment plan, a written cost estimate, and the confidence to make an informed decision. No obligation to proceed. No pressure. Just clarity.
020 7459 4367
020 7459 4367