The medical tourism trend has been steadily rising over the past few years, led by those seeking cheap plastic surgery options overseas. Despite repeated warnings from health officials, people continue to travel to East Asia, South America and other parts of the world to get filler injections and other cosmetic procedures performed at great risk to their health and appearance. According to Sky News, a local radio station in Norfolk, United Kingdom, the trend to seek less expensive surgery is simply putting lives at unnecessary risk.
“You would check your electrician’s credentials. You would check your plumber’s credentials. Why on Earth wouldn’t you check your surgeon’s credentials,” Nigel Mercer, president of the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons, told the news source. “You wouldn’t go for cut price brain surgery or cut price gall bladder surgery — you would want the best that you can get. Cosmetic surgery is not something to be taken lightly and yet thousands of people are putting themselves at serious risk by rushing in to major procedures recklessly, without consideration for their own safety.”
It isn’t just patients from the U.S. or U.K. traveling for plastic surgery either. Medical tourism to South Korea has been up among Chinese patients seeking plastic surgery as well. While Seoul is making efforts to stop unlicensed surgeons from practicing, the Chinese government is urging citizens to reconsider this risky trend.
With any plastic surgery procedure it is best to seek the advice of a domestic, board-certified plastic surgeon for the best results. Contact Maryland Plastic Surgery for more information on cosmetic procedures with quick recovery and how to look your best in the safest way possible.
