You saw an ad for overseas plastic surgery options and it sounded like a great idea. Cheaper prices and a vacation all at once. But wait!! Before you go out of the country for your surgery, you should look into the potential risks.
Questions to Consider
- First and foremost, what are the qualification of the surgeon? Is this person board-certified and experienced in the procedure(s) you want? What are the surgeon’s credentials and how can you verify them? It is extremely difficult, if not impossible in certain countries, to verify credentials.
- Beyond the surgeon’s qualifications, you’ll want to know about the experience of the anesthesiologist and the rest of the staff who would take care of you.
- What about the hospital or clinic? Many overseas facilities are fine; but others do not meet the high standards you would expect in the U.S.
- Is it really a vacation if you spend your time recovering from surgery?
- What would be your plans for aftercare? You will either need to stay at your overseas destination long enough for all your aftercare, or arrange for a doctor at home to do all your follow up.
- And, if you have complications, how will deal with these?
Afterwards
Full recovery and adjustments typically continue to evolve for close to a year. During that time, patients often have questions or concerns. Or, let’s assume everything went okay immediately following your procedure, but months later, you realize something didn’t go exactly as you like. Now you need a correction. Now, what are you going to do?
A Better Option
Choose a board-certified plastic surgeon with whom you can establish an ongoing relationship, to whom you have access when you need it. Then, after you heal, go on that fabulous vacation and show off your beautiful you!
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I am a frequent contributor to RealSelf.com. You’re welcome to post questions there for general responses. Obviously, I can’t give specific answers; for that, you’ll want to come in for a private and completely confidential appointment to address your particular issues.
Located in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, our offices are a warm, friendly and comfortable place to share your wants, needs and concerns.
Lawrence Iteld, MD