Cosmetic Surgery Abroad for Australians: Where and How

Most Australians who travel for cosmetic surgery look first at Asia, mainly Thailand and South Korea, because the flights are shorter. Some go further, to Turkey or Colombia, for a particular procedure or surgeon. Wherever you go, the hard part is the same: verifying a surgeon you can't check with Australian regulators, and arranging aftercare at home, where Medicare is unlikely to pay for fixing a cosmetic result.

Why Australians look overseas, and the trade-offs

Cost is the usual reason. Other reasons include wait times, a particular surgeon's reputation for one procedure, or wanting to recover privately away from home. These are understandable. But the trade-offs for Australians differ a bit from the ones Americans or Britons face.

First, distance. Even the "close" destinations mean a long flight, and a long flight soon after surgery raises the risk of blood clots and makes it harder to get back to your surgeon if something goes wrong. Second, regulation. Australia tightened its rules on cosmetic surgery from 1 July 2023, when the Medical Board of Australia brought in new guidelines for practitioners who perform cosmetic surgery and procedures. Those protections cover practitioners registered in Australia. Once you book overseas, they stop applying.

That doesn't make going abroad a bad decision. It means you have to do some of the work yourself: checking credentials, reading contracts and planning recovery.

Commonly considered destinations

Thailand

Thailand is one of the most common choices for Australians. Flights are relatively short, there are lots of connections from the major capitals, and hospitals there have long treated international patients. The main risk is the package-deal market. Some offers bundle surgery with a holiday, and it can be hard to tell who the operating surgeon actually is. Ask for the surgeon's full name, check their licence with the Medical Council of Thailand, and confirm they are trained in plastic surgery specifically.

South Korea

South Korea is best known for facial procedures such as eyelid surgery, rhinoplasty and facial contouring. The flight is longer than to Thailand, and many clinics have international patient coordinators. Be aware that in Korea, as in many countries, a doctor with a medical licence can run a cosmetic clinic without being a board-certified plastic surgeon. Ask specifically whether your surgeon is a certified plastic surgery specialist, and get the answer in writing.

Turkey

Turkey is a long-haul trip from Australia and usually involves a stopover. People go mainly for hair transplants, and also for rhinoplasty and body procedures. The market has a lot of agencies and facilitators, so separating the agency from the treating doctor is the main job. Turkey's specialist plastic surgery society publishes a member search, and the Ministry of Health authorises facilities that treat international patients.

Colombia

Colombia is the furthest of the four. Getting there usually means connecting through the Americas, which makes the total journey long. Australians who consider it are usually looking at body contouring, an area where Colombian plastic surgeons have a strong reputation. The upside is a public registry: Colombia's RETHUS lets you check a health professional's registration and listed qualifications. The downside is distance. Getting back to your surgeon after you're home is mostly a question of video calls, not a quick flight.

Destinations side by side

Qualitative comparison only. Quality varies far more between individual surgeons and hospitals than between countries.

What official Australian guidance says

Smartraveller, the federal government's travel advice service, has a medical tourism page that applies directly to cosmetic surgery. Its main points:

• See your doctor in Australia for a health check at least six weeks before you leave.
• Research the hospital and the surgeon's qualifications, accreditation and reputation, and don't decide on cost alone.
• Check that the hospital and doctor hold indemnity and malpractice insurance.
• Basic travel insurance rarely covers medical tourism. Look for a specialised policy, and read the Product Disclosure Statement for what it covers on complications, post-operative care and medical evacuation.
• If a complication can't be treated overseas, you may need medical evacuation to Australia, and that can be extremely expensive.
• Travel with someone who can support you and make decisions if you can't.

Victoria's Better Health Channel adds that a lack of records about the procedure, and having to see a different doctor once you're home, are both risks of medical tourism. The Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons and the Australasian Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons also publish information on cosmetic tourism for patients. Read it before you commit.

The checks Australia now requires of local cosmetic surgeons are a useful checklist to take abroad.

Medicare, insurance and complications

This is the part people most often get wrong, so here is what we know.

Overseas treatment

Medicare is unlikely to cover medical treatment overseas, and cosmetic surgery done abroad is your cost. Australian private health insurance generally won't cover it either. Check your own policy, because some insurers have started to offer medical tourism products.

Complications after you're home

If you have an emergency such as a severe infection, a blood clot or a wound breaking down, go to a public hospital emergency department. Public hospitals treat Medicare-eligible patients as public patients. The grey area is ongoing or corrective care. Medicare generally doesn't fund cosmetic procedures without a clinical need, and the Better Health Channel says further treatment needed back in Australia may not be covered. A revision to fix an outcome you're unhappy with is very likely to be a private cost.

Travel insurance

Read the exclusions before you buy. Many standard policies exclude elective procedures and the complications that follow them. If you buy specialised medical tourism cover, check how it defines a complication, whether it covers a longer stay if your surgeon says you're not fit to fly, and whether it includes air evacuation to Australia.

Verifying a surgeon you can't check in Ahpra

Every destination has its own way to check a surgeon. Whichever country you choose, the steps are much the same:

1. Get the operating surgeon's full nameGet the name of the surgeon who will operate on you, not the clinic brand, the coordinator or the agency, in writing before you pay a deposit.
2. Check the licence in the official registryUse the destination's own registry: the medical council in Thailand, RETHUS in Colombia, and so on. Check the name and the registration number yourself.
3. Confirm the specialtyA medical licence alone isn't enough. Confirm specialist training in plastic surgery, either through the national board or certification body or through membership of the national plastic surgery society.
4. Check the facilityAsk which hospital or accredited surgical facility you'll be operated in, and whether an anaesthetist will be present for the whole operation.
5. Get it all in writingAsk for the consent form, a written minimum stay before flying, and the clinic's complication and revision policy. Read them before you book flights.

Arranging aftercare back home

This is where Australians lose out most because of distance. Sort it out before you go, not after a problem appears.

• Tell your GP your plans before you go, and book a review appointment for soon after you land
• Ask whether a local plastic surgeon will see you for post-operative care. Some will and some won't, so find out ahead of time
• Bring home an operation report, your discharge summary, a list of all medications given and prescribed, and pathology results
• If you had implants, get the manufacturer, type, size and batch details in writing. Implants used overseas may not be products approved in Australia by the TGA
• Confirm how you'll reach your surgeon after you leave (video consults, a named contact, and the hours they're available)
• Get a written minimum stay before flying, and book a flexible return fare in case you need longer
• Plan help at home for the first days, including transport from the airport and someone to stay with you

Recovery time and flight length go together. A long flight soon after body surgery is a different risk from a short one after a minor facial procedure, so match the destination to the procedure and to how long you can stay. If you can't stay long enough for a far-off destination, that's a good reason to choose somewhere closer, or not to travel at all.