In more recent years we have seen a rise in body contouring also known as the BBL (Brazilian Butt Lift) (Sadideen, Akhavani, Mosahebi & Harris, 2020). This is the process of removing fat via liposuction, cleaning the fat and then injecting it back into the body into alternate places, for example the buttocks, breasts or face. Women in particular are becoming obsessed with their appearance, and focusing more on their bodies rather than their face (American society of Plastic Surgeons, n.d.). A main influence for this is celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Iggy Azalea and Amber Rose who have, them selves enhanced their looks with this type of procedure (Dr Ali, 2018).

When it comes to having this surgery, here in the UK you can expect to pay as much £12,000, depending on how many areas you would like work on, however, for the same procedure abroad you can pay as little as £3000. This procedure can be high risk, if not performed correctly it can lead to fat embolization or even heart failure (Astarita, Scheinin & Sathyavagiswaran, 2015).

When looking at the massive savings that can be made , patients don’t always consider the risks, by 2015 13 patients had died while travelling to Mexico to undergo this type of surgery (Perry, 2019). A more recent case to hit the news was 29 year old Leah Cambridge, a mother of 3 from Leeds, UK, that went to Turkey after saving £6,500 for the procedure, however she never came home (Izundu, 2018), becoming the second Brit to die while undergoing the same procedure in Turkey.

I would like to recommend an enhancement to this procedure that has become available in the last few years, this is known as the ‘safe BBl’, although no procedure is a 100% safe, I believe that this is the safest way of performing this procedure. The way this is performed is exactly the same however the use of an ultrasound along side a doppler is used throughout, this is to help the surgeon avoid deep vessels when injecting the fat back into the body. Although this is a very rare way of doing things, I have identified that there are only 3 surgeons world wide that use this procedure, these are situated in Los Angeles, London and Istanbul (SIFSOP, n.d.) the Procedure in Istanbul costs between £3,500 – £5,200, where as in LA the price falls between £7,000 – £12,000. The point I am trying to make with this post is that you can get the same quality procedure for a fraction of the price as long as relevant research is done prior to the surgery.

References

American society of Plastic Surgeons. (n.d.). New Plastic Surgery Statistics Reveal Focus on Face and Fat . Retrieved from asps.multimedia-newsroom.com/index.php/2017/02/28/new-plastic-surgery-statistics-reveal-focus-on-face-and-fat/

Astarita, D. C., Scheinin, L. A., & Sathyavagiswaran, L. (2015). Fat transfer and fatal macroembolization. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 60(2), 509-510. doi:10.1111/1556-4029.12549

Dr Ali. (2018, May 12). Celebrities who have had Braziliam Butt Lifts. Retrieved from https://drali.com/brazilian-butt-lift-doctor-west-bloomfield-mi/

Izundu, C. (2018, October 4). Second Brit dies after ‘Brazilian butt lift’ surgery. BBC. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-45731191

Perry, A. (2019). I’m a plastic surgeon who won’t perform Brazilian Butt Lifts. They’re deadly. . Retrieved from https://eu.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2019/01/31/plastic-surgery-brazilian-butt-lifts-florida-death-column/2374585002/

Sadideen, H., Akhavani, M., Mosahebi, A., & Harris, P. A. (2020). Consensus research priorities for “Brazilian butt lift” (BBL) in the UK: A BAAPS-led delphi survey of expert clinicians and researchers. Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery, 73(2), 391-407. doi:10.1016/j.bjps.2019.10.008

SIFSOP. (n.d.). Ultrasound-Guided Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL). Retrieved from https://www.sifsof.com/clinical-apps/bbl-brazilian-butt-lift/

Dental tourism aka Dental holidays refers to a person travelling abroad in search of Dental treatment.

Around 3 in 10 people avoid going to the dentist and 1 in 5 of them due to affordability of treatments required. Many countries do not fund dental care for the majority of their people, therefore residents have to secure their own private insurers, however, this can be expensive (Balasubramania & Holden, 2018), partly being the reason for the rising figures in Dental Tourism.

We all want the ‘perfect smile’ some may call it the ‘Hollywood smile’. whatever it be referred to, we have seen a rapid rise in people seeking treatments such as, dentures, veneers and implants abroad (Ahmadimanesh, Paydar & Asadi-Gangraj, 2019). Destinations such as Turkey, Thailand and Croatia can offer treatments of more than 50% lower in price than places such as the UK and USA (Chen, 2017).

Like many other procedures abroad, dental tourism can become more attractive due to affordability, shorter waiting periods and convenience of treatment, (Barrowman, Grubor & Chandu, 2010) also states that the main disadvantage with travelling abroad for dental treatment is the professional, moral, legal and ethical duty of the practitioner regarding the outcome of treatment, implying it may be difficult to hold them accountable for mistakes that may be made or problems which may occur after treatment. More often than not insurance companies refuse to cover you for such procedures and when they do it is at a much steeper price, therefore compensation can be hard to receive.

We must remember that dentistry, where ever it maybe provided, home or abroad, is never risk-free. You might pay a higher amount to see the best dentists and still have something go wrong, it all depends on whether you are willing to take the risk at all.

References

Ahmadimanesh, F., Paydar, M. M., & Asadi-Gangraj, E. (2019). Designing a mathematical model for dental tourism supply chain. Tourism Management, 75, 404-417. doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2019.06.001

Balasubramania, M., & Holden, A. (2018, October 24). Dental tourism: Things to consider before going that extra mile for your smile. ABCNEWS. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-25/dental-tourism-overseas-dentist-cost-of-dentistry-thailand-india/10427136

Barrowman, R., Grubor, D., & Chandu, A. (2010). Dental implant tourism. Australian Dental Journal, 55(4), 441-445. doi:10.1111/j.1834-7819.2010.01267.x

Chen, D. (2017, January 10). THE RISE OF DENTAL TOURISM. TourismReviewNEWS. Retrieved from https://www.tourism-review.com/dental-tourism-growing-news5250

Although on some earlier posts I mentioned a lot about benefits you get from travelling abroad for cosmetic surgery, in this post I would like to outline some of the risks you may face too.

Not all is what you see on screen, correct research must be done in order to choose the right destination as well as the right surgeon, if this isn’t done with care many issues can arise. Some people are so enthusiastic about getting surgery done that the price of the procedure may make them forget to read the small print within their contracts. Speaking from experience I have found that many small prints may have hidden charges, such as charges for blood transfusions (if needed), x rays and also hospital garments, if not read correctly the procedures could end up costing more than they would have done in home countries.

Along side the risks of hidden fees, there is also the possibility that not all may go to plan. Many problems can arise when having surgery anywhere such as infection, the three main types of infections are called mycobacterium abscesses, mycobacterium chelonae and mycobacterium fortuitum, these tend occur due to sterilization being inadequate (Cusumano, Tran, Tlamsa, Chung, Grossberg, Weston & Sarwar, 2017). When infections do arise nine times out of ten the patient will already be back home in their own country, these types of things can cause a major strain on their countries health care systems, (Miyagi, Auberson, Patel & Malata, 2012) state that in 2012 the cost to the UK through the NHS was roughly £9392 per person to correct these surgeries that had incurred problems abroad, if many people do face problems I am sure you can see the pressure our NHS would be under.

I would like to end this post by making you all aware that choosing to have surgery is not something to be rushed into, when choosing you surgeon and destination you need to ask the questions, check the credentials but also not go for the first one that looks good on screen. Surgery is a major choice and choosing to do this in a foreign country is even larger. I have included a link below I believe to be helpful when making that choice.

https://www.self.com/story/how-to-find-a-plastic-surgeon

Thank you for reading:)

References

Cusumano, L. R., Tran, V., Tlamsa, A., Chung, P., Grossberg, R., Weston, G., & Sarwar, U. N. (2017). Rapidly growing mycobacterium infections after cosmetic surgery in medical tourists: The bronx experience and a review of the literature. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 63(C), 1-6. doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2017.07.022

Miyagi, K., Auberson, D., Patel, A. J., & Malata, C. M. (2012). The unwritten price of cosmetic tourism: An observational study and cost analysis. Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery, 65(1), 22-28. doi:10.1016/j.bjps.2011.07.027

Sinrich, J. (2017). 9 Inside Tip for Finding a Plastic Surgeon you can trust. Retrieved from https://www.self.com/story/how-to-find-a-plastic-surgeon

According to (Smith & Puczkó, 2015) cosmetic tourism has risen in recent years due to the price of the procedure, the holiday experience and also shorter waiting periods abroad. However, what effects does this have on the countries providing these services?

Numerous destinations use companies such as MEDTOUR to boost the tourism within their country, this has shown to be a success as when travelling for cosmetic care rather than health care, the patient is usually healthy and willing to explore the destination as well as participate in some of the activities the place has to offer (Liang, Choi, Joppe & Lee, 2019)- boosting the revenue of the destination. Not only this but if surgery is performed correctly the patient is advised to return to the country for post op check ups (Flawless, n.d.), which again means tourism and revenue will rise.

Initially we would see people travelling from less developed countries to wealthier ones in search of treatments not available at home, however this has reversed and many people are now travelling to undeveloped destinations in seek of the same procedures at a lower price, with a market worth over $50 billion and growing (Livingston, 2015), “This new trend has a driving effect on the economies of countries thanks to improvement in technology and transportation.” (Horowitz et al 2007: 2)

However, not all affects seen can be positive. Many customers can be dubious to have surgery in countries which are seen to have a bad reputation. Keep tuned for my next post where I will look a little further into the risks of having such procedures abroad.

References

Flawless. (n.d.). The Rise of Cosmetic Tourism. Retrieved from https://flawless.org/journal/the-rise-of-cosmetic-tourism/

Horowitz, M. D., Rosensweig, J. A., & Jones, C. A. (2007). Medical tourism: Globalization of the healthcare marketplace. MedGenMed : Medscape General Medicine, 9(4), 33.

Liang, L. J., Choi, H. C., Joppe, M., & Lee, W. (2019). Examining medical tourists’ intention to visit a tourist destination: Application of an extended MEDTOUR scale in a cosmetic tourism context. International Journal of Tourism Research, 21(6), 772-784. doi:10.1002/jtr.2303

Livingston, A. (2015). Plastic Paradise: The Trends & Effects of Cosmetic Surgery Tourism in Economically Growing Countries. The Cohan Journal, 2(1), 1. doi: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1012&context=tcj

Smith, M., & Puczkó, L. (2015). More than a special interest: Defining and determining the demand for health tourism. Tourism Recreation Research, 40(2), 205-219. doi:10.1080/02508281.2015.1045364

Choosing where to go under the knife can be stressful. Many different things can determine where you decide is best to do so. The choice can be driven by the cheaper procedures available overseas, especially when package deals are available with cheap flights, accommodation and an included holiday is always a bonus (Miyagi, Auberson, Patel & Malata, 2011). Certain destinations can offer a price up to 70% lower than the price here in the UK, people may think this is because the surgeons are less qualified or the equipment isn’t as up to date however this isn’t always the case, some of the reasons for the lower price can include lower cost of labour, real estate values and construction costs(New look holidays, 2019). Common procedures like rhinoplasty (nose jobs) and breast augmentation are approximately £2000 cheaper in other European countries rather than the UK (Griffiths & Mullock, 2018).

Along side the price there has been a rapid rise in social media influence (Jacobson, Gruzd, Kumar & Mai, 2019), thanks to the internet and newly available technologies many people have become obsessed with their appearance and changing their bodies to gain positive feed back from others when posting their pictures online (Smith & Puczko, 2008). With many online influences, females in particular desire to look like some of these people. With local celebrities such as Chloe Khan (Khan, 2018) regularly posting on her Instagram page about surgeons she has used to get certain procedures such as the Brazilian butt lift, enquiries about similar procedures have seen a rise (Smith & Puczko, 2008). This can also fall into the ‘electronic word of mouth’ category.

With word of mouth ranking most important when making a “purchase decision”, electronic word of mouth opens new doors for suppliers to advertise their business not only this previous clients can also leave unbiased reviews on sites such as ‘tripadvisor’ (Litvin, Goldsmith, & Pan, 2008) . With a higher volume of people connecting through electronic devices, a lot more people are likely to search for things they have seen or heard and a wider variety of options become available, But can we trust these methods?

References

Frue, K (2017). A guide to consumer behaviour for buisness success. Retrieved from https://pestleanalysis.com/consumer-behavior/

Griffiths, D., & Mullock, A. (2018). Cosmetic surgery: Regulatory challenges in a global beauty market. Health Care Analysis, 26(3), 220-234. doi:10.1007/s10728-017-0339-5

Jacobson, J., Gruzd, A., Kumar, P., & Mai, P. (2019). Networked influence: An introduction. Social Media + Society, 5(3), 205630511986547. doi:10.1177/2056305119865473

Khan, C [chloe.khan]. (2018, June 7). @elitecosmeticsurgery [Instagram]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BwAjEPyBx9M/

Litvin, S. W., Goldsmith, R. E., & Pan, B. (2008). Electronic word-of-mouth in hospitality and tourism management. Tourism Management, 29(3), 458-468. doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2007.05.011

Miyagi, K., Auberson, D., Patel, A. J., & Malata, C. M. (2011;2012;). The unwritten price of cosmetic tourism: An observational study and cost analysis. Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery, 65(1), 22-28. doi:10.1016/j.bjps.2011.07.027

New look holidays. (2019). Why is cosmetic surgery abroad cheaper?. Retrieved from https://www.newlookholiday.co.uk/news/why-is-cosmetic-surgery-abroad-cheaper-/

Smith, M. & Puczko, L. (2008). Health and Wellness Tourism. London: Routledge.