Australians increasingly seek cosmetic surgery overseas

The medical tourism industry in Australia has seen a massive 1,150 percent explosion in the past five years. The boom in Australian medical tourism has coincided with the rise of several low-cost airlines. Combining cheap fares with cut-price cosmetic surgery procedures overseas, many ordinary working Australians now find that cosmetic surgery is an affordable option.

Close to 4,000 patients are thought to have had treatment in countries such Malaysia and Thailand where cosmetic surgery prices are often two-thirds cheaper than Australia. The numbers are more than 11 times greater than the number of people becoming medical tourists four years ago.

Top procedures for women are breast enlargements, face lifts, liposuction and tummy tucks, with around 20 percent of people electing to have more than one procedure carried out in the same holiday. Men tend to go more for cosmetic dentistry, hair transplants, liposuction and laser eye surgery.

Cosmetic surgery, wherever it is performed, comes with risks attached and even the smallest of operations can have complications or side-effects. Even in countries with strong plastic surgery regulation, things can go wrong and if you have issues in a country where English is not widely spoken, your medical holiday could turn into a nightmare. Therefore, it is important to research your medical holiday thoroughly to try and maximize your chances of having a successful holiday. Click here to read our free guide on how to minimize risks when becoming a medical tourist.

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