‘Surgical Tourism’: What are the risks of going abroad for cosmetic surgery?

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Cosmetic surgery overseas might be cheaper, but is it safer?

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00:00When it comes to cosmetic tourism, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons
00:06outlines a few things for us to be aware of. It asks us firstly to consider protection.
00:11In this vein, the BAAPS advises that the reason for higher costs for this type of surgery
00:17at home is often attributed to regulations by the Healthcare Commission and the General
00:22Medical Council. As a result, with higher prices comes increased protection. The association
00:28also suggests that travelling home in an emergency may not be covered by your insurance, so these
00:33risks should be factored into decision making of cosmetic tourism. It also asks us to consider
00:38aftercare. The association says that it's fairly common to have little to no aftercare
00:43when having cosmetic work done overseas, meaning the recovery from larger surgeries can take
00:48a lot longer. Meanwhile, it recommends having work done at an accredited practice in the
00:53UK in order to receive full aftercare as well as follow-up consultations or treatments.
01:00Professor David Strain, a professor of cardiometabolic health, said, quote, surgical tourism has
01:06been a problem for some time and complications can arise late from any procedure, not just
01:11obesity surgery, even something as simple as hair implants that people travel for. Professor
01:16Strain went on to say you can get infections and the problem is people come back and they
01:20are asking the NHS to pick up the pieces of procedures that were done with less standards
01:25than we would normally apply in the UK. It's also the physical side of it. This is not lunchtime
01:30surgery. It may be packaged as a holiday. It may look glossy, but it's actually real surgery and
01:36it needs to be prepared for and looked after afterwards, the same as any other surgery.
01:41Some of these procedures are very long procedures. They can take six hours and if you have any health
01:46concerns, that adds to your risk. No surgery is risk-free. It doesn't matter who's operating
01:52or where. There are complications associated with any surgery.

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