What Should a Facelift Cost?

As the price of plastic surgery soars, a few doctors are checking their rates—and their conscience

By Linda Wells

I ran into a woman at my high-school reunion last weekend who looked at least two decades younger than the rest of us. “I’ve done everything,” she told me, and ticked off the list: facelift, blepharoplasty, breast implants, CoolSculpting. “Did I forget anything? I think that’s it.” She pointed to her scars, which were invisible to my eyes. “Could I ask what the facelift cost?” Without missing a beat, she said, “Forty-one thousand dollars. Dr. David Caplin.” I was tempted to call him directly from the buffet line.

This was in St. Louis, where you’d expect prices to be low. Even so, she told me, the city’s big-name surgeon now charges $250,000 for a facelift. In other words, New York prices.