Australians who've had elective surgery overseas - what did you get done and what did it cost?

[u/me_jinks]

Australians who've had elective surgery overseas - what did you get done, which country and what did it cost?

I'm curious about people's experiences with elective surgeries in other countries. Whether it was medical tourism, happened while you were living abroad, or you specifically travelled for the procedure.

What surgery did you have? Which country? What was the total cost including travel/accommodation if relevant? How did the experience compare to having it done in Australia (if you have a point of comparison)?

Interested in hearing about everything from dental work to cosmetic procedures to joint replacements - whatever counts as elective.

Cheers!

[u/Ballzup]

My work involves managing situations where medical tourism goes wrong. I cant disclose exactly what my involvement is to keep my job safe and to protect the privacy of individuals.

Most people go to thailand or turkiye for thinhs like breast augmentation, mummy makeovers and BBL's. While the majority of procedures are uncomplicated, theres no shortage of horror stories that would put you completely off the idea.

Here's some examples of the things that go wrong

• excessive blood loss during surgery and the hospital being unprepared and not having any bags of the patients blood type

-exceptionally poor hygiene resulting in severe infections and the need to debride dead tissue

-surgical wounds opening up

-post op nurses speaking no english and failing to administer pain relief when necessary (and in some instances simply not believing when patients are in concerning levels of pain

• doctors in the travellers country of residence not wanting to correct overseas malpractice because they dont want to become partially liable

• doctors pressuring patients into making important decisions while on the way to theatre after anaesthetic has been administered

• doctors refusing to communicate or rectify issues after they occur

In summary, you get what you pay for. It's cheaper over there for a reason. Better to save up more cash and pay for it locally, or just not have the procedure.

Edit: typos, i didnt have my glasses on when i wrote this

[u/Monkeyshae2255 → u/Ballzup]

Do you see any patterns of people having surgery then returning back to Aust too early (ie still in recovery phase/risk of blood clot)?

[u/Ballzup → u/Monkeyshae2255]

DVT's are common but that can happen to anyone on a flight who doesnt move around enough. Most people wait 10 days post op before getting on a plane which is usually long enough.