Prostate cancer patients are forking out as much as $10,000 in out-of-pocket costs for radical surgery, with some urology surgeons charging over $40,000 more than their peers for prostatectomies, the latest Medibank data shows.

The average cost of a radical prostatectomy ranged from $14,553 to $55,928 depending on the surgeon, according to the joint Medibank and Royal Australian College of Surgeons report. The average separation cost is the total cost of the surgery and hospital stay.

The urology surgical variation report found as many as one in four bladder cancer patients had to be re-operated on six months after their initial surgery. Credit:Nic Walker

While 18 per cent of urology surgeons charged no out-of-pocket fees, others charged patients as much as $10,704. The median average out-of-pocket cost of the radical surgery was $2766, found the analysis of all urology surgeries funded by the health insurer and performed in private hospitals between 2014-16 and 2015-16.

NSW surgeons charged $7049 in out-of-pocket fees on average, compared to $4110 among Victorian surgeons, and $1579 in Tasmania.