ASPS launches campaign on hazzards of medical tourism and cosmetic plastic surgery

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) has launched a campaign to educate the public about the potential issues surrounding cosmetic plastic surgery procedures being performed in Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Three principal issues are raised by this education effort that all patients should be thinking about.

1. Is the physician qualified? Are the medical facility and equipment safe?
2. How will my post-operative care and any complications be handled?
3. Are travel and vacation activities compatible with surgery?

There certainly are first class operations performed in Mexico, South/Central America, and Southeast Asia. Many of the innovators in Plastic Surgery reside in Brazil, for instance. However, the quality of many of these "medical tourism" outfits seems dodgy at best. Doctors in states bordering Mexico report many anecdotes of scary medical practices they've seen where they had to end up holding the bag on serious surgical complications.

A group of Plastic Surgeons telling you not to go visit another group of Plastic Surgeons is always going to vulnerable to charges of slamming the "competition", or even charged with ethnocentrism or even racism when it involves Latinos locales in these PC times. However, this campaign is spot on in pointing out the practical problems with undergoing large operations without the safety-nets available in western countries.

The briefing summary of the ASPS patient information publication can be read here