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RPLND cost in India: what builds the bill and where it is done | CION Cancer Clinics
RPLND has no single price in India. The bill depends on how many nodes are removed, whether chemotherapy came first, open or keyhole surgery, room category and the length of stay. Aarogyasri, CGHS, ECHS, EHS or cashless insurance then change what you pay far more. This page explains the bill as of 2026, where the operation is usually done, and what to ask a centre in writing. CION Cancer Clinics’ surgical oncologists in Hyderabad can talk this through with you.
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Medically reviewed by Dr. Mohammed ImaduddinConsultant Surgical Oncologist · MBBS, MS (General Surgery), MCh (Surgical Oncology) · last reviewed September 2026, next review due September 2027
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On this page
- Why is there no single price for RPLND in India?
- What goes into an RPLND bill?
- What pushes the bill up or down?
- Who pays for RPLND under Aarogyasri, CGHS or insurance?
- How do you check a centre before choosing it for RPLND?
- What should a written estimate include?
- What do families believe about RPLND cost, and what is true?
- Common questions about RPLND cost and where it is done
The short answer
Why is there no single price for RPLND in India?
RPLND has no fixed price, because the route, the length of stay and what the surgeon finds all change the bill. Where you pay less is usually decided by your scheme or insurance, not by the hospital's headline figure.
What the operation is
RPLND stands for retroperitoneal lymph node dissection. It removes lymph nodes, the small glands that filter fluid, from the back of the abdomen, most often for testicular cancer. It is a long, careful operation around the body's largest blood vessels.
Where it is usually done
Because it is uncommon, RPLND is mostly done at larger cancer centres with surgeons who operate on testicular cancer regularly. Many families in Telangana districts travel to Hyderabad for it. Some travel further, to a centre with a surgeon who does this operation often. Experience matters more here than distance, particularly after chemotherapy.
What this page cannot tell you
It cannot give you a quote. Only a centre that has seen your scans and reports can estimate your bill, and even that estimate can change once the operation is under way. When you ask for one, bring the CT scan, the tumour marker results, the pathology report from the testicle operation and details of any chemotherapy. Without those, any figure you are given is a guess.
Everything on this page is indicative, as of 2026. Ask for a written estimate and check it against your own cover.Reading the estimate
What goes into an RPLND bill?
A package figure bundles several parts. Knowing them helps you see what is and is not included.
Surgeon, anaesthesia and theatre
Fees for the surgical team and the anaesthetist, plus theatre time. A longer, harder operation costs more.
Hospital stay
The ward room, any ICU or high-dependency days, nursing, medicines and drips. Room category often changes other charges too.
Often charged separately
- Extra ICU days
- Blood transfusion
- Special diet or feeding
Tests before and after
Blood tests, tumour markers, a CT scan, heart and lung checks, and the pathology report on the removed nodes.
Costs outside the package
Travel and stay for a family member, sperm storage before surgery, follow-up scans and any further treatment. Families often forget to budget for these.
Side by side
What pushes the bill up or down?
Tends to cost less
Tends to cost more
A smaller template, removing fewer nodes
A full template on both sides
Surgery for early spread, before any chemotherapy
Surgery after chemotherapy, with scar tissue to clear
Only the nodes are removed
A kidney or part of a blood vessel must come out too
A smooth stay on a general ward
A leak, infection or slow bowel that extends the stay
Open surgery with standard equipment
Keyhole or robotic surgery with costly disposables
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Schemes and insurance
Who pays for RPLND under Aarogyasri, CGHS or insurance?
For many families a scheme or policy pays most of the bill. The figure you actually pay depends on which card you hold and which hospital is empanelled for it.
Government schemes
Aarogyasri covers listed cancer operations at empanelled hospitals for eligible families in Telangana. CGHS covers central government employees and pensioners, ECHS covers ex-servicemen, and EHS covers Telangana state employees. Each has its own package rates and paperwork. Ask the hospital's scheme desk whether RPLND is listed and what is left for you to pay.
Cashless insurance
With cashless cover, the hospital sends a pre-authorisation request to your insurer before admission. Check the room rent limit, because a higher room category can cut what the insurer pays on every other line. Ask about any co-payment and the sum insured left this year. If the hospital is not in your insurer's network, you may have to pay first and claim the money back later. Keep every bill, report and discharge paper for that claim.
If you have no cover
Ask for an itemised estimate and a package rate. Ask the social worker or financial counsellor about charitable support. There is no instalment or EMI scheme on offer, so plan for the deposit at admission.
Before you commit
How do you check a centre before choosing it for RPLND?
Ask who operates
Ask which surgeon will do the operation and how often they do RPLND. It is fair to ask this directly, and a good team will answer plainly.
Ask about the team around them
Ask whether a tumour board of surgeons, medical oncologists and radiologists reviews the case. Ask whether ICU and a vascular surgeon are on hand if needed.
Ask which approach they plan
Ask whether they plan open or keyhole surgery, and why. Ask whether nerves that control ejaculation can be protected in your case.
Ask for everything in writing
Get the estimate, what it includes, and what happens to the bill if the stay runs longer. Check it with your scheme desk or insurer before admission.
Keep this list
What should a written estimate include?
- The operation named, and whether open or keyhole
- The room category the package assumes
- How many ward and ICU days are included
- Whether the pathology report is included
- The daily charge if the stay runs longer
- What your scheme or insurer is expected to pay
Commonly believed
What do families believe about RPLND cost, and what is true?
"The cheapest quote is the same operation."
Two quotes can cover very different things. One may leave out ICU days, the pathology report or complications. Compare what each estimate includes, and who will operate, before comparing the totals.
"Robotic surgery must be the better choice if we can pay."
Keyhole and robotic RPLND suit some men, often those without heavy scar tissue after chemotherapy. For others, open surgery is the safer route. The choice is made on the cancer and the surgeon's experience, not on price.
"Aarogyasri will not cover a big operation like this."
Many major cancer operations are listed under the scheme at empanelled hospitals. Do not assume either way. Take the card and the diagnosis papers to the scheme desk and ask them to check.
"We should wait until we have saved enough."
Timing matters in testicular cancer, particularly between chemotherapy and surgery. Talk to the team about cost at the first visit. They can often point you to schemes or support you did not know you qualified for.
Questions we are asked
Common questions about RPLND cost and where it is done
How much does RPLND cost in India?
There is no fixed figure. The bill depends on the template, whether chemotherapy came first, open or keyhole surgery, room category and the length of stay. Your scheme or insurance then changes what you pay. Ask a centre that has seen your scans for a written, itemised estimate.
Is RPLND done in Hyderabad?
RPLND is done at several large cancer centres in Hyderabad. Because it is uncommon, it is worth asking each centre how often its surgeons perform it, and whether they also operate after chemotherapy. Ask about the team around the surgeon, not just the hospital name.
Does Aarogyasri cover RPLND?
Aarogyasri covers many listed cancer operations at empanelled hospitals for eligible Telangana families. Whether RPLND is covered, and on what terms, depends on the current package list and the hospital. Take your card and diagnosis papers to the scheme desk before admission and ask them to confirm.
Will my insurance pay for robotic RPLND?
Some policies cover robotic surgery in full, some cap it, and some exclude costly disposables. Read your policy wording or call your insurer with the planned procedure name. Ask the hospital's insurance desk to raise the pre-authorisation early, so you know the answer before admission.
Why is RPLND after chemotherapy often more expensive?
After chemotherapy the nodes are often stuck to blood vessels by scar tissue. The operation takes longer, and other tissue may need removing too. Recovery can be slower, with more days in hospital. Each of those adds to the bill, though schemes and insurance often absorb much of it.
What costs come after the operation?
Follow-up visits, blood tests for tumour markers and scans continue for years. Some men need more chemotherapy depending on the pathology report. Sperm storage, if done, has a yearly charge. Ask which of these your scheme or policy covers so the later costs do not come as a surprise.
Can we pay in instalments or EMI?
No EMI offer exists for this operation, so do not plan around one. Ask the hospital about its deposit and billing timelines. Ask the social worker about charitable funds and government schemes, and check whether your employer or a family policy offers any cover.
Is it worth travelling to another city for RPLND?
That depends on what is available near you and on your own case. The team treating you weighs the surgeon's experience, the approach needed and your fitness to travel. Ask them directly. Add travel, stay and follow-up visits to the estimate before deciding.
What moves the figure
What affects the cost
Four things change the total more than anything else.
The technique used
A shaped or image-guided delivery costs more than a conventional one, and is chosen on clinical grounds rather than preference.
How many sessions
The total is driven by the number of sittings or cycles, not by a single per-visit figure.
Supporting tests
Scans, blood work and pathology done alongside treatment are billed separately.
Your cover
Aarogyasri, CGHS, ECHS, EHS or cashless insurance usually change the out-of-pocket figure substantially.
Paying for it
Insurance, schemes and payment
What you actually pay usually differs a great deal from the sticker figure.
AarogyasriEmpanelled. Bring the card and a referral where you have one.
CGHS / ECHS / EHSAccepted at CION centres for eligible treatment.
Cashless insuranceMost major insurers are empanelled. Pre-authorisation is handled by our desk.
Self-payItemised estimate given before treatment starts. No EMI scheme exists.
Accreditation and empanelment
- NABH
- NABL
- ISO 9001:2015
- ArogyaSri empanelled
- CGHS accepted
- ECHS accepted
- EHS accepted
- Major cashless insurers
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Dr. C. Raghavendra Reddy
MBBS(Gold Medal), DNB(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Gold Medal)
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Dr. Bharati Devi Gorantla
MBBS, MD(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Adyar,Chennai), ECMO, MRCP SCE(UK)
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Dr. Owais Mohammed
MBBS, MD (General Medicine), DrNB (Medical Oncology), ECMO, MRCP SCE (Medical Oncology) (UK)
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Dr. Muralidhar Muddusetty
MBBS (AIIMS), MS (Surgery) (AIIMS), DNB (Surgical Oncology), MRCS (Edinburgh)
Surgical Oncologist
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Dr. Vinay Mamidala
MBBS, MS(General Surgery), M.Ch(Surgical Oncology), FMAS, FARIS(Ongoing)
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Dr. Vajja Sandeep Kumar
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Our centres in and around Hyderabad
Addressed by landmark, because that is how this city navigates. A surgical consultation can be booked at any of these centres through one helpline, and your team will tell you where the operation itself takes place.
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Sources
- Cancer Research UK — Testicular cancer: treatment
- National Cancer Institute — Testicular Cancer Treatment (PDQ) - Patient Version
- American Cancer Society — Surgery for Testicular Cancer
- Cancer.Net — Financial considerations
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
Keep reading
Related pages
Cost, Insurance and Schemes for Cancer SurgeryPre-authorisation, room rent limits and schemes explainedChoosing a Surgeon and a CentreThe questions that matter more than the priceRPLND: What the Operation InvolvesWhat the bill is actually paying forLaparoscopic and Robotic RPLNDWho keyhole surgery suits, and who it does notRecovery After RPLNDHow long the stay and time off work usually run
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