Thinking of a cheap overseas holiday with some cosmetic surgery thrown in? And relaxing on a tropical beach in Thailand (or somewhere similar) to recuperate? Sounds good, doesn’t it?
Well, you’re in the website of a Sydney based Specialist Plastic Surgeon. Not surprisingly, I would caution you to think very carefully about it. There are good reasons to stay in Australia for your cosmetic or plastic surgery, despite the costs. And to be fair, it also means that I am advising the international visitors to my site to consider their decision to fly to Sydney to have me perform their cosmetic procedures.
All plastic and cosmetic surgery is real surgery. It has risks and complications. The best in the world at any given procedure still have things go wrong to their patients.
Complications can occur during and after an operation. Less than half of all complications will occur within the first week after an operation. Especially with breast implants, the interface between the body and the implant (capsule) continues to evolve over about a year until it is stable, like all scars. And then it can still change for periods of time longer than that. Changes in this capsule can change your result from great to terrible. If your surgeon is overseas, how will you have this managed?
A common issue that Sydney Plastic Surgeons also see is the quality of implants that are used overseas. Most of us have seen at least one patient who believes that they have had reputable brands of implants used in their surgery, only to find during a re-operation that a non recognised brand has been used. The usual fail safes of implant stickers and serial numbers have been faked on multiple occasions.
The depth and breadth of training of your surgeon is part of your recipe for success, and your surgeon’s ability to deal with problems. There is no method of guaranteeing an overseas surgeon’s credentials and comparing their training with that of Australian Plastic Surgeons.
Everyone wants to minimise their risk. Would you get on a plane that did not appear to be well maintained, or drive a car with brakes that sounded dodgy? Why risk your health with elective surgery?
