It’s recently become popular to “border hop” for cheaper plastic surgery services. The idea might seem exciting and attractive, but you should take note that there can be serious consequences associated with it. Horror stories about surgeries gone terribly wrong are coming out almost daily. Botched nose job, breast augmentation, and weight reduction surgeries have left patients with drastically altered physical appearances. Should you be contemplating border hopping for plastic surgery, it’s important that you take note of the following reasons why it isn’t a smart thing to do.
Mexico Lacks a Board Certification Program
Becoming board certified is the one of the most important steps in the process of becoming a physician and surgeon. The United States has some of the best medical education and training programs in the world because the model has been proven to produce quality practitioners. Mexican surgeons aren’t required to become board certified and thus might not be fully qualified to actually perform your surgery. By crossing the border to have your surgery, you’re rolling the dice in regards to your care and well being.
Mexico isn’t Home
Surgeries of any and all types should not be taken lightly. Despite even the very best efforts by providers, problems can sometimes occur during and after surgery. Additionally, there are always certain levels of anxiety, pain, and discomfort associated with surgery. Being far away from home, family, loved ones, and friends can multiply uncomfortable feelings drastically. A Mexican hospital or hotel is not a proper place for you to have or recover from surgery.
Medical Tourism Isn’t Safe Medical Practice
Medicine is a conservative profession for a reason. The responsibility of a physician is tremendous. Patient health and safety should always come first. Medical tourism isn’t a safe way to practice medicine. Doctors who participate in medical tourism are being irresponsible and putting money ahead of patient safety. Packaging surgery with plane flights and hotel rooms isn’t medicine, it’s exploitation for financial benefit.
Horror Stories Are Common
Patients who have crossed into Mexico for plastic surgery have reported awful things. One patient compared her experience at her surgeon’s office to that of a fast food restaurant. Choosing her surgery was “like going to a menu board and picking what you want”. Additionally, her results were not what she wanted and she had to go to a surgeon in the United States to have it corrected. This woman was lucky. More and more surgeons are refusing to accept patients who have had plastic surgeries in Mexico because the horrible results simply can’t be fixed. Performing surgeries on these patients is too much of a liability.
The decision to cross the border for your plastic surgery is up to you. Realize that it isn’t the safest thing to do. Take the above mentioned reasons to not hop over the border for plastic surgery into account before making your final decision.
