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  • Traveling Outside the Country For a Procedure May Cost You More Than Money
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Hello. This is Dr. Stephen Prendiville, and I'd like to discuss a topic that comes up from time to time in my practice. And that's about what we describe as medical tourism, and that means going to a different country to have a procedure. Now, the obvious benefit of this would be for lesser costs, and looking at any decision making process, we have to weigh the positives and negatives. So, the cost would definitely be a positive. But, what I ask patients to also consider, is follow-up. Because there'll be a period of time, actually for months after having a procedure, like, let's say, a face lift, where you'll be concerned about things. Where you want to have reassurance. It's natural, it happens to everybody. You just don't have that as much, when you're having a procedure done in a foreign country. And if you have a problem, in other words, a complication that needs a revision, you might be out of luck, basically.
The second aspect is, you know, the vacation benefit. What's perceived as a benefit may or may not be, because in reality, if you're having a procedure done, like a face lift, or let's say, if you go and have an abdominoplasty somewhere else, you're not going to be spending a lot of time on the beach. Okay? So, it's not really a vacation, it's a procedure. So, when you're making this decision, consider all of these factors. And also remember that, if you do need to have something else done, and you're not happy with the procedure, like, I've seen many patients come from other countries, let's say, the Dominican Republic, or Costa Rica, and they're not happy with their procedure, and then the less expensive face lift becomes a very expensive one. So, that's the way I would weigh your decision making process, and try to make the best decision that you can for yourself. Hope this helps. Thank you.

Traveling Outside the Country For a Procedure May Cost You More Than Money

Dr. Stephen Prendiville discusses the idea of medical tourism, or traveling to another country in order to save money on a cosmetic procedure. According to Dr. Prendiville, the risks may far outweigh the benefits.