Hi there auOrei,
I had a double mastectomy with DIEP recon in February at the Epworth Hospital. The anaesthetist was arranged by my plastic surgeon and I didn’t get a choice. Like Jules1958 I was in surgery for 9-10 hours. My anaesthetist was Dr Burger van der Merwe. He and his anaesthetic nurse were lovely and very reassuring.
The cost for me was approximately $800 per hour that I was under the anaesthetic; I received about a quarter of the total amount I paid in rebates from Medicare and my private health fund. I believe there is a bit of variation in fees and was told initially by my surgeon that the anaesthetic fee would be between $650 and $800 per hour. Your surgery will also be much shorter than mine was. If you are able to get a quote, ask for the item numbers. You can then call Medicare and ask them what you would receive back.
Best of luck with it all.
