How do you know if you are really saving money by going outside the US if you do not research what it costs to stay in the US?

Be sure to consult with at least 3 plastic surgeons in the US.
A US plastic surgeon will make reccommendations on what procedures are best for you.

You will have a base quote to work off of. In some cases, you may even realize that it is more economical to stay in the US to have the 1 procedure you are interested in. Be sure to consider costs of pre-op labwork, garmets, medications, travel and accomadations, and misc expenses when comparing your quotes.

Meeting face to face with a US surgeon will allow you to ask lots of questions about your procedure including what to expect, possible complications, and recovery time.

In most cases, PS consults in the US are free. So do your homework and use this to your advantage. The more info you have, the easier it will be to make an educated decision….

According to an article in Lindisima, the main attraction to have surgery in other countries is cost.

In clinics catering to Americans in Latin America, the cost of surgeries, including breast augmentation, is about half to one third of that in the USA. Sometimes, the cost also includes hotel stays and meals. They also offer packages for multiple procedures, and believe it or not, even spa services or recreation.

I asked PSJ members this question “If prices were similar, would you still choose PS abroad?”
Of 41 votes, 28% said they would still go abroad because of standard of care, privacy, and the foreign plastic surgeon’s technique and artistic ability. 68% said that if they could afford it, they would stay close to home because traveling is a hassle and they enjoy being close to their loved ones.

So is price a major reason why people chose to go abroad? According to our members it is.

A recent article on the ABC news website highlighted the growing popularity of the concierge service in The US.

As most of us who have researched plastic surgery abroad know, this is a very popular business among the “medical tourism” communities. Companies such as Plenitas in Argentina, Plastic Surgery Travel in Costa Rica , and Mexican Cosmetic Surgery in Mexico all charge for their referral services.

On one side, I think a consultant is a good idea if you don’t have the time to research and have the extra money to fork out the cash.

On the other side, one must really examine who the consultant is and who they are really working for. Sadly, most consultants work for plastic surgeons first, and consumers second. One should take a concierge’s advice as such and weigh it against someone’s real experience with a particular plastic surgeon abroad.

Just like everything else, you have to be concerned about conflict of interest and multiple agendas going on at the same time,” said Cunningham, responding to reports that some consultants may really just be working for a handful of doctors. “There are no regulations that guide them. They really can do whatever they want.”

I think the best referrals will always come from patients. Even a patient’s bad experience can speak volumes about a particular plastic surgeon’s bedside manner or how he /she handles unhappy customers. The best decision will be YOUR decision after you have weighed all your options and done your homework.

I never actually decided I wanted to have PS in Mexico until after I figured the price in LA was going to be $18000 and I only had $5000 to spare.
Luckily, I met a girl online named Betsy who had results I was totally impressed with.
That was the best start for me. I think it’s important to meet real patients - NOT reccommended references plastic surgeons send, NOT before/after pics on some dr-sponsored website, NOT “advise” from someone who profits from getting more patients to sign up with his/her plastic surgeon. There is nothing like a real experience from a real patient. No one but a pateint can share which room is best to recover in, or what the plastic surgeon’s bedside manner is REALLY like.

Step one. Start a dialogue with other patients.

A recent newstory touched on the trends in plastic surgery among hispanic women.

Renato Saltz, MD, of Salt Lake City, UT, believes that, “One size does not fit all - not only are techniques different for certain minority populations but the concept of what is beautiful is as well,” he said. “For example, South American women typically want smaller breasts and larger buttocks than the average white American female.”

A vey popular plastic surgeon who performs the Brazilian Butt lift is New York- based Dr. Roberts (www.betterbuttocks.com). Some have mentioned to me that Dr. Roberts’s prices for this procedure begin @ $10,000. At the same time, latin plastic surgeons abroad charge starting at $2500.

While the popularity of a bigger, rounder behind is just beggining in the United States, plastic surgeons have been performing micro-fat injections to women south of the border for years.

When I first started looking into plastic surgery in countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic I was a little leery about telling just anyone. The public has been conditioned to believe that this is like playing Russian Rolette. It seems like everyone wants to get into the act of dissuading the public from having plastic surgery anywhere but the good ole US of A.

A US plastic surgeon based in Orange County runs a site called Cosmetic Surgery Disasters designed to be “a learning experience to help those looking into cosmetic surgery. ” While he claims that this site was not made to discourage people from going abroad for plastic surgery, since there are only 2 stories and one is a horror story from Costa Rica one might think otherwise.

A quote from his site:

The Bottom Line: With the decreased cost of surgery outside the United States comes a degree of risk. Be careful with surgery in a third world country. I review cases for the California Medical Board and have repaired poor outcomes of other surgeons in my local area. This is the single worst tummy tuck story I have ever seen.

I agree that this story is very tragic and my heart goes out to the woman involved. I believe we should all be aware of these tragic experiences and learn something from them. I thank the woman involved for sharing it and I hope it has helped her healing.

This is a single story and not the majority. It is interesting that on the same page you will find a link to “Safe Cosmetic Surgery” that will take you to a commercial for this Southern Cali plastic surgeon’s services. Hmmmmmm……..

One thing I do want to make clear is that Costa Rica is NOT a third world country.

The United Nations uses the phrases ‘developing countries’ and ‘least developed countries’ rather than ‘Third World’. While it does have an official list of ‘least developed countries’ it does not have an official list of ‘developing countries’ because its members have not agreed on the criteria.

Here is the link to the United Nations: http://www.worldbank.org/data/countryclass/classgroups.htm

The US is considered a “first world country” because it is on the list of “High Income Economies.”
The next level down is “Upper Middle Income Economies” and that is what most people refer to as “second world countries”. Costa Rica and Mexico are on this list.

Costa Rica is NOT a third world country.