Medical Tourism

Dr. Kirn and Dr. Al Bayati are Plastic Surgeons devoted to advanced techniques in Cosmetic Surgery of the Face, Breast, and Body.

Call The Office

…WHERE PATIENTS TRAVEL TO PROVIDERS AT A DISTANCE WITHIN THE US OR INTERNATIONALLY, HAS GAINED POPULARITY OVER THE LAST DECADE.

A desire to save cost, perceived expertise, social media marketing, and even reality television are drivers for medical tourism.

Within most medical specialties there are physicians and institutions who have particular expertise for treatment of a specific, generally uncommon, disease. And, for patients affected by those diseases, traveling to a center of excellence is warranted and useful. Local physicians usually provide referrals to these centers.

Marketing efforts, especially for plastic surgery, may lead patients to incorrectly believe that a purported unique procedure, or quality of result, performed elsewhere is superior to what can be achieved locally. Likewise, we have seen many patients travel only to spend more money for inferior results.

Cheerful beauty happy casual adult mature person

SURGERY IS A UNIQUE AND CUSTOMIZED EXPERIENCE. THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS.

Four components are necessary to generate a successful surgical outcome: 1) a good plan, 2) a well-executed procedure, 3) a good recovery and 4) sufficient long-term follow-up. Compromising on any of these items will lessen the quality of the result and may lead to complications.

Patients are seen frequently after surgery in our practice to ensure that healing is occurring normally. We intervene if it is not. Virtually all patients have questions and want guidance about the healing process. If the surgeon is hundreds or thousands of miles away, it is impossible to do this. You can’t examine a patient over the phone. Even photographs and Zoom calls fall dramatically short of an in-person exam.

Over the course of more than twenty years of private practice, we have performed surgery on many patients from other states and other countries. In each of these circumstances, a great deal of effort was extended to ensure that the four components of successful surgery mentioned above are achieved as completely as possible.

SO, BEFORE YOU CONSIDER MEDICAL TOURISM, CAREFULLY CONSIDER THE ADVANTAGES, COSTS, AND POTENTIAL FOR CATASTROPHIC PROBLEMS WHICH COULD OCCUR.

And keep in mind that consultation with a local ABPS certified Plastic Surgeon may provide considerable insight.