Frequently Asked Questions

The pooled published mean is 8.59 cm at three months; series across techniques report roughly 6 to 13 cm, with one variant reporting 17.04 cm in selected patients. Your CT anatomy determines your realistic range, which your surgeon will discuss specifically at consultation. Outcomes vary between individuals. The published figures.

The ribs consolidate in their new position — healed bone is stable tissue — and the change is intended to be lasting, with weight stability the main factor in your hands. Published follow-up currently runs mostly to six months, with longer-term data accumulating as the technique matures internationally. More detail.

Photos show other people’s anatomy. Australian rules require any before-and-after imagery to be genuine and unedited, and your realistic range comes from your own CT and consultation, not from anyone else’s result.

The first week involves genuine, actively managed discomfort — nerve blocks placed during surgery plus a planned medication schedule. Most patients turn the corner in week two and are at desk work within one to two weeks. Week-by-week guide.

Yes, for roughly 8 to 12 weeks as your surgeon prescribes. It’s the cast that holds your reshaped ribs while bone consolidates — and the published data links corset compliance directly to result quality. The corset explained.

Desk-based: usually one to two weeks. Physical/manual: closer to three months or a staged return — planned with your surgeon before booking.

Walking from day one; strenuous exercise and heavy lifting between six weeks and three months, on your surgeon’s clearance.

Broadly: a healthy adult 18 or over, stable weight (generally BMI under about 28–30), non-smoker or ceased six weeks pre-op, good bone quality, clear goals, and able to commit to the corset protocol. Final candidacy is a clinical decision made on your assessment and CT. Candidacy in depth.

Australian regulations require it for all cosmetic surgery — an independent practitioner in your corner from the start. The full pathway.

A minimum seven days between informed consent and booking. Australia builds reflection time into cosmetic surgery by law. The reforms explained.

Yes — interstate and regional patients do this routinely. The in-person consultation and the follow-up schedule are fixed parts of the pathway, so we map your travel and appointment plan with you before anything is booked.

No. The procedure is available to patients 18 and over.

Fees depend on your individual surgical plan and are provided as a complete written quotation after consultation — surgical, anaesthetic and facility fees itemised. We don’t publish package prices or offers.

Surgery performed for purely aesthetic reasons generally doesn’t attract Medicare benefits, and most insurers exclude it. Confirm your position with Medicare and your insurer; this is general information rather than financial advice.

FRACS specialist plastic surgeons — Fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, holding specialist registration with the Medical Board of Australia, trained in modern ultrasonic rib remodelling, fully insured, operating at accredited facilities in Brisbane and Perth. About our surgeons.

Every Australian practitioner’s registration is public: search the AHPRA register at ahpra.gov.au and look for specialist registration in surgery — plastic surgery. We encourage every patient to check, for any procedure, with any provider.

Like all surgery: pneumothorax, bleeding, infection, nerve injury and ongoing pain, asymmetry, scarring, revision, and anaesthetic risks. Published rates in modern remodelling series are low — zero pneumothorax and zero infections in the 2025 pooled analysis — and the complete picture is on our Risks & Safety page.