Guide to Selling a Plastic Surgery Practice in Las Vegas, NV

The Las Vegas market offers a significant opportunity for plastic surgeons considering a sale. But a successful exit is more than just good timing. It requires understanding your practice’s true value, the types of buyers interested in aesthetics, and how to navigate the complexities of a transaction. This guide provides the initial insights you need to start thinking about your transition, whether you plan to sell in one year or five.

A Look at the Las Vegas Market

The decision to sell your practice is personal, but it happens within a larger market context. Right now, that context is very favorable for plastic surgeons.

National Demand Surges

Nationally, the appetite for cosmetic procedures is strong. The total number of cosmetic surgeries has increased by 19% since 2019 alone. Looking forward, the global market is projected to grow from $67 billion to over $201 billion by 2031. This is the kind of growth that attracts sophisticated buyers and investors looking for established, reputable practices to partner with.

The Las Vegas Advantage

Here in Nevada, the healthcare industry is performing well. Las Vegas, with its vibrant economy and constant influx of tourists and new residents, represents a prime location for aesthetic services. Buyers are not just looking at your past performance. They are looking at the potential for growth, and the demographic and economic energy of Las Vegas provides a compelling story.

Key Considerations for Las Vegas Sellers

Beyond the numbers, sophisticated buyers look for specific characteristics that signal a healthy, scalable business. As you prepare for a sale, focusing on these areas can dramatically improve your outcome.

Here are three factors buyers will scrutinize in your Las Vegas practice:

1. Navigating Nevadas Ownership Laws. Nevada prohibits the corporate practice of medicine (CPOM). This means any transaction must be structured so that the clinical entity is owned by licensed physicians. This rule affects how deals are put together, and working with an advisor who understands these structures is critical to ensure a compliant and successful sale.
2. Demonstrating Scalability. Buyers get nervous if the practice’s success depends entirely on you. A practice with a second surgeon or a strong team of non-surgical providers is far more attractive. It shows the business has a life beyond its founder and can be scaled, which often leads to higher valuation multiples.
3. Explaining Your Patient Model. How do you attract patients? Is it primarily through physician referrals, or do you have a robust digital marketing engine? Buyers want to see a repeatable, predictable system for patient acquisition that they can understand and potentially expand upon after the transition.

What Market Activity Tells Us

While specific sales of private plastic surgery practices are rarely public, the trend is clear. The aesthetic industry is experiencing a wave of interest from professional investors.

The Rise of Strategic Buyers

Private equity (PE) groups and medical service organizations (MSOs) are actively looking for well-run practices with strong reputations. They see the growth in aesthetics and want to partner with leading physicians. For you, this means the potential pool of buyers is deeper and better capitalized than ever before. These groups are looking for platform practices they can build upon, creating significant opportunities for the right sellers.

Responding to Inbound Interest

You may have already received unsolicited calls or letters from potential buyers. While flattering, these initial offers are designed to favor the buyer and acquire your practice without competition. An unsolicited offer is a powerful signal that your practice is valuable. However, the best approach is to treat it as the start of a conversation, not the end. Creating a confidential, competitive process is the only way to know you are getting the true market value.

The Path to a Successful Sale

Some owners think a sale can happen in a few weeks. The reality is that a well-run process typically takes four to six months. This timeline ensures you are in control and not reacting to a buyers agenda. Many owners tell us they wish they’d started preparing 2-3 years before they were ready to sell. Preparation gives you the leverage to sell on your terms.

The process generally follows four stages:

1. Preparation and Positioning. This is where we help you clean up your financials, normalize your earnings, and build the story that showcases your practice’s full potential. Lack of preparation is the single biggest factor that devalues a practice.
2. Confidential Marketing. We do not just “list” your practice. We run a confidential process, reaching out to a curated list of qualified financial and strategic buyers who have a stated interest in plastic surgery practices in the Southwest.
3. Managing Bids. Creating competitive tension between multiple buyers is the best way to maximize your valuation. We have seen a structured process increase final offers by 30% to 100% compared to a single-offer scenario.
4. Diligence and Closing. Once an offer is accepted, the buyer performs a deep dive into your financials and operations (due diligence). Being prepared here with clean data prevents last-minute attempts by the buyer to lower the price.

How Your Practice is Valued

Valuation is more than a formula. It is about telling the right story with your numbers. Most practices are valued using a multiple of their Adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization).

Adjusted EBITDA is your practices true cash flow. We find it by taking your net income and adding back owner-specific perks (like a car lease) and non-recurring expenses. Many owners are surprised to find their Adjusted EBITDA is significantly higher than their reported profit.

From there, we apply a multiple. This multiple is not guesswork. It is determined by a range of factors.

Understanding these drivers is the first step to maximizing your value. We find that most practices are undervalued until their numbers are properly adjusted and their story is framed for buyers.

Planning for Life After the Sale

A successful transaction is about more than the final price. It is about setting yourself, your family, and your team up for the future. Thinking about these issues early in the process ensures your personal and financial goals are met.

1. Defining Your Next Chapter. Many partnership deals with PE or MSOs involve the selling physician staying on for a period of time. We help you structure this arrangement to protect your clinical autonomy while defining your responsibilities, compensation, and eventual exit timeline. Control is not lost. It is redefined.
2. Protecting Your Legacy and Staff. Your team and your reputation are valuable assets. The right partner will recognize this and will be focused on retaining your talented staff and preserving the culture you built. This is a key point of negotiation and a top priority in how we help structure transitions.
3. Structuring for Tax Efficiency. The way your deal is structured has massive implications for your after-tax proceeds. An asset sale versus an entity sale, or the use of rollover equity, can dramatically change what you take home. Planning for this from the beginning is a critical part of maximizing your financial outcome.