Surgery is expensive... there are no doubts about that. However, there are a few things a patient without insurance who desires surgery can do to minimize the costs as much as possible. Before going into cost-cutting measures, you first need to understand where the costs come from. In rank order, the costs of surgery come from (highest to lowest): • Hospital Charges (MOST expensive charges) a) Use of OR Room b) Paying the Circulating Nurse c) Paying the Scrub Nurse d) …