Medical Tourism and Liposuction
by Cosmerience.com Founder Teng Yan Yau
Medical tourism is one of the buzzwords of the last couple of years. Many people from the US and Europe are travelling over to plastic surgery hubs in Asia such as South Korea, Thailand and Singapore to get their procedures done. One of the big driving factors for this is cost. For example, an abdominal liposuction procedure in the US can commonly cost up to USD$7500. On the other hand, the costs for liposuction in Thailand can be USD $1500 – $4000, representing 40 – 50% cost savings even after factoring in the airfare and accommodation costs. Many people also see this as a chance to take a holiday in new country.
The cosmetic industry in Asia
The cosmetic procedure and plastic surgery section in Asia is a fast-growing niche consumer market, estimated to be approximately $10 billion dollars annually and growing at a 14% annual rate. This has been propelled by economic development and increasing affluence in the region. In fact, Asia recently overtook the US as the number 1 market in the world for cosmetic procedures (Source : The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons).
However, it is not without problems. Unlike in western countries, the cosmetic procedure and plastic surgery industry in many countries in Asia, especially the developing ones such as Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, are highly opaque and not well-regulated. While there are many highly qualified medical professionals in Aisa, there have also been several horror stories of botched procedures by doctors there with fake or souped-up credentials.
An option to consider
It is definitely a viable option to travel to Asia to do your liposuction or other cosmetic procedures. However you need to do your proper research:
1. Decide on which procedure you want to do and shortlist a number of clinics, hospital and doctors based on their qualifications and experience with the procedure. Quality and experience matters more than price. Several useful websites can help you in your research process, for example Purseblog forums and Cosmerience where their users share their personal experiences, before and after photographs and provide emotional support to each other.
2. Get in touch with the shortlisted doctors and clinics. This can be done easily via email or Skype video consultations. It is important to be able to communicate with your doctor well – it’s a red flag if you find that you are not able to express your needs and expectations without the aid of a translator. This is because beauty is very subjective, and what your doctor believes to be a beautiful nose may be different from your personal ideals.
Medical Tourism Agencies
If you wish to save the hassle of making arrangements on your own, another option will be to go through a medical tourism agency. For an administrative fee of several hundred dollars, the agency will help you get in touch with their affiliated doctors, book your accommodation and flights and even pick you up from the airport to bring you to your doctor. It can be quite intimidating to travel alone to a foreign country for a surgery, and so having a local person take care of your needs can provide some peace of mind.
In summary, medical tourism is a growing industry and can be considered as an option if you’re looking for good value-for-money. it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the next 10 years.
Teng Yan Yau
Latest posts by Teng Yan Yau (see all)
- Medical Tourism and Liposuction - November 10, 2014
