Cosmetic surgery overseas

Cosmetic surgery overseas is often presented as the same operation at a lower price. The operation may well be performed competently - there are excellent surgeons in every country, and nothing on this page should be read as a claim otherwise.

What differs is everything around the operation: how much time you get before it, who looks after you afterwards, what happens if something goes wrong once you are home, and what the total cost turns out to be. Those are the things worth thinking through, and they are the reason a decision like this should not turn on price alone.

The considerations that matter most

1. Continuity of aftercare

This is the single biggest practical difference. Complications from surgery do not all appear in the first week - infection, wound breakdown, bleeding, seroma, poor scarring and implant problems can present days or months later, usually after you have flown home.

At that point the surgeon who operated on you is in another country. In practice the problem is managed by whoever you can get to locally - a GP, an emergency department, or another surgeon who did not perform the original operation and has no record of what was done.

2. Flying after surgery

Surgery increases the risk of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. So does prolonged immobility on a flight. Combining the two soon after an operation compounds that risk.

Cabin pressure changes can also worsen swelling. Advice to avoid flying for a period after surgery is standard - which is at odds with a trip built around flying home on a booked date.

3. Consultation time before the operation

In Australia, cosmetic surgery requires a GP referral, screening for underlying psychological conditions, and at least two consultations before booking - deliberately creating a gap for reflection. See cosmetic surgery rule changes.

Where a consultation happens the day before surgery, or on arrival, there is limited opportunity to establish what you actually want, to be examined properly, to consider alternatives, or to change your mind. A recurring theme in revision consultations here is that the implant size or type was decided in a single short meeting.

4. Regulatory frameworks differ

Australian practitioners are registered with AHPRA, subject to the Medical Board's standards, and their registration is publicly searchable. Facilities are accredited, and device regulation runs through the TGA.

Other countries have their own frameworks - some comparable, some different in scope or in what is publicly verifiable. The practical point is not that one country's practitioners are better than another's; it is that you can independently verify an Australian practitioner's registration in a minute, and you may not be able to do the equivalent elsewhere before committing.

5. Revision costs

If a result needs revising, you are generally paying for a second procedure - either returning overseas or having it done here. Revision surgery is frequently more complex, and more expensive, than the original.

Ask, before you go: what is the total cost if a revision is needed, and who pays?

6. Insurance and recourse

Travel insurance commonly excludes elective surgery and its complications. Check your policy wording specifically. Recourse if something goes wrong is also governed by the law of the country where the surgery took place.

What we see in practice

We have treated patients presenting with complications after surgery performed overseas. That has included removal of implants that were the wrong size or type for the patient, and management of wound and infection problems.

We do not publish those as evidence that overseas surgery is unsafe - complications occur after surgery performed in Australia too, including ours, and a clinic that pretends otherwise is not being straight with you. We mention it because the pattern behind these cases is usually the same: a decision made quickly, a consultation that was too short, and no accessible path back to the operating surgeon.

If you are considering it anyway

That is a legitimate decision, and it is yours to make. If you do:

Research the surgeon's qualifications and the facility's accreditation independently, before paying anything
Insist on a proper consultation - ideally by video, well in advance - not on the day
Ask who manages complications after you fly home, and get the answer in writing
Check what your travel insurance actually covers
Build in enough time before flying home, and follow the surgeon's advice on when it is safe to fly
Budget for the possibility of revision
Take a copy of your operation record, implant details and any device identification cards home with you - these matter enormously if a problem arises later
Arrange a GP or surgeon here to review you on return, before you need one urgently

Do not treat it as a holiday. Recovery is not sightseeing, and swimming, sun and alcohol are generally off the table while healing.

If you have already had surgery overseas

If you have concerns about a result or a complication, we will see you. Bring whatever documentation you have - operation notes, implant cards, discharge instructions and photographs. Cost depends on what is needed and is quoted after assessment; where treatment is medically indicated, Medicare rebates may apply.

Booking

Me Clinic, 4 Burke Road, Malvern East VIC 3145. Phone 1300 852 050 or (03) 9569 3511, or use the online consultation form. Consultations as at September 2024, including GST: Specialist Plastic Surgeon $350, Cosmetic Doctor $150.

Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner. Individual results may vary.