Save Money on Plastic Surgery

I've noted in the past that medical tourism is a growing option to save a ton of money on medical costs. I've also noted that some people are even traveling for elective procedures. In that latter post, I commented:

I wonder what else people will start traveling for now. Facelifts? Liposuction? Breast enhancements? Seems like the list is growing.

Little did I know that I was a prophet.

It seems people are now traveling to save thousands on many different forms of cosmetic surgery. And they don't have to go far. It seems that a simple trip to Mexico can leave people looking better without spending a fortune. The details:

A tummy tuck that costs $4,000 in Mexico would be $15,000 in the U.S.

So, yes, you can save a bundle. But you need to be cautious:

In some cases, tour operators are not legitimate and connect patients with unqualified doctors. In other cases, Staffieri says, patients run into problems if follow-up care is needed.

But if you do your research carefully, it's possible that you'll get BETTER care abroad.

Personally, I don't think I or my wife would ever opt for plastic surgery and if we did, I'm sure we wouldn't travel overseas for it. Now if there was some other sort of illness that we had that was a major expense, I think we would consider medical tourism. But with plastic surgery it seems like a lot could go wrong for something that usually isn't necessary. Why take the risk -- either here or abroad?

Anyone have any experience with medical tourism in this or any other area of medical care?

Comments

[guinness416]

There was a pretty notorious case a couple of years ago of an Irish woman who was a "medical tourist" to New York for a nose job and died under the knife. Yes, I absolutely agree it's not worth the risk for plastic surgery. I have idly wondered aloud about going to my husband's native country (a developing Asian country) for medical care, despite us having excellent socialized Canuck care, and he almost had a fit. So don't think I'll be trying it. Irish and British people travelling to eastern Europe for dentistry etc is a recurrent theme in news articles and even TV dramas, but despite all the talk of it I've never met or known through the grapevine of anyone who's done it. I'm wondering if it's an urban myth!

[Matt Wolfe]

Plastic Surgery from a place like Mexico seems a little too sketchy to me. I'm sure they have some very capable surgeons done there, I just don't think it's worth the risk of ending up with one that's not quite up to par. I don't think I would ever consider it.

[mysticaltyger]

I've heard of people going to Costa Rica for cosmetic surgery for many years. This medical tourism thing is not really all that new...it's just been increasing at an ever faster rate.