WALNUT CREEK
Much to the alarm of top plastic surgeons in the United States, more people are opting to travel overseas to have plastic surgery. Lower costs and promises of unrealistic results lure in people seeking what they think will be a simple cosmetic enhancement procedure. However, it is extremely dangerous to simply show up in a foreign country where, even if you believe your prospective surgeon is licensed to practice surgery there, the credentialing system and oversight boards may not be nearly as reputable as the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
The American Board of Plastic Surgery requires rigorous training, extensive internships, written and oral examinations, and holds its board-certified surgeons to a very high standard. Other countries may not have these strict requirements that are there for your safety and well-being. For instance, you may believe that a licensed surgeon abroad means that they surely have specialized training in the cosmetic procedure you desire. However, without proper regulated board certification, they may have had no more training than a medical doctor or surgeon who has not spent years, if not decades, dedicated to learning the science and art of plastic and reconstructive surgery.
If you make the highly risky choice to travel abroad for your plastic surgery, you run the risk of ending up with a surgeon who botches your procedure and compromises your health, or leaves you with an unacceptable result with sloppy, visible scars. Often, the low cost of surgery abroad is completely diminished by the amount of reconstruction and revision procedures needed once you have returned home and the full results become apparent after healing. Furthermore, you may not have any legal protection at all, so even if your foreign surgeon leaves you disfigured, there might not be patient protection laws that allow you to take action against negligence and malpractice. What may sound like a bargain can end up leaving you far worse off than you started. You can lose a great deal of money on a botched surgery and travel expenses, not to mention the costs of properly fixing any bad outcomes with a trusted reconstructive surgeon.
The concept of plastic surgery as a form of “tourism” is a dangerous notion as well, as this industry feeds off the misconception that you are going away for a revitalizing “vacation.” It is not recommended by any reputable surgeon that you perform strenuous activities or spend a lot of time in the sunlight right before or after surgery, as this can lead to complications. You you are much safer following advice to take the proper downtime at home. Moreover, long flights post-surgery can increase the risk of serious medical issues like blood clots or pulmonary embolism.
Don’t jump on the frightening new bandwagon of plastic surgery tourism and risk losing money, endangering your health, and going through the emotional suffering this could cause. Stick with top-notch surgeons such as Dr. Aycock , who are board-certified so that you know you are in the hands of an expert who has spent years studying, training, and refining your procedure with the latest advancements. Your health, your happiness, and your self-esteem are not worth all of the many risks that having plastic surgery abroad poses.
