Breast Augmentation: Cost, Reviews, Photos

There is no doubt that you can get excellent breast augmentation results abroad in Mexico. The biggest issue is the postoperative care after the surgery.

Most of the time a breast augmentation goes without a hitch, but on the rare occasion there is a complication, you need to be near your plastic surgeon.

If you are not, either traveling to see your plastic surgeon or seeking the services of a local surgeon may end up costing you more in the long run. Mucha suerte. (Luis H. Macias, MD, Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon)

The risk you run going out of the country is that follow up becomes a complicated issue. If you have any problems with the surgery you are going to have find someone in your area to evaluate you.

The money that you are saving by having the surgery in Mexico you could end up spending that money if you develop problems. (Arun Rao, MD, Tucson Plastic Surgeon)

I think that you are better off staying close to home to have it done so that if you run into problems your surgeon can address them for you. (Steven Wallach, MD, New York Plastic Surgeon)

Having a breast augmentation abroad? Good or bad idea?

No plastic surgeon can guarantee 100% perfect surgery with no complications but seeking plastic surgery at a discount would not be something I would recommend. Find the surgeon you feel is best and try to make this work for you. (Kenneth B. Hughes, MD, Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon)

That is no problem as long as you are happy with the results and have no complications. If you are unhappy or have postop problems be ready to travel back and forth for your care or pay a new local doctor full price all over again to fix anything you are unhappy with.

Surgical fees include all postop care so don’t expect any local doctor to give you any breaks. Satisfaction is high and complications are few, but that’s why choosing your doctor carefully is so important. I see several patients a year that had overeas surgery that needs correction and they wind up paying twice. (Ronald V. DeMars, MD, Portland Plastic Surgeon)

Breast Augmentation Breast Implants in Mexico

Where you go for the procedure is up to you, and the advantage of having it done in Mexico is the significantly lower cost. Is the comprehensive consumer protection apparatus in the United States worth the extra expense?Again, the decision is yours. (Steve Laverson, MD, San Diego Plastic Surgeon)

Traveling abroad for breast augmentation

Traveling abroad for plastic surgery is fraught with potential problems. I would seek plastic surgery services in the US. Your family members may have been fortunate that they did not have issues. Plastic surgeons in the US have complications but are well-trained to manage the complications. Safety is an issue in other countries. The FDA has made the US one the safest countries for the practice of medicine. Please give give this decision a great amount of thought. (Earl Stephenson, Jr., MD, DDS, FACS, Atlanta Plastic Surgeon)

As I an sitting here answering this question, I am at the local hospital seeing a patient who had an abdominoplasty three weeks ago in Mexico. She is admitted to the hospital with a bad wound infection. Things like this can happen in the United States as well but treating our own complications (and every surgeon has them at one time or another) is part of being a surgeon. Most surgeons are not very enthusiastic about treating other surgeon’s complications, especially when it is someone who went abroad to have their surgery.

One has to consider VALUE as part of the equation. Sure, you might save a lot of money by going to Mexico, but that is shopping purely on cost. Paying more money to have your surgery performed locally might be a better value if you factor in unexpected complications. Complications can sometimes be life-threatening. What value do you place on your life? (Matthew L. Romans, MD, FACS, Salinas Plastic Surgeon)

Plastic surgery tourism

As a board certified plastic surgeon in the United States, I am not the best person to evaluate a plastic surgeon in Mexico.

But while there are unethical or unsafe surgeons performing breast augmentation in the US, they are quite rare, especially if you look in the subset of board certified plastic surgeons. I can’t advise you how to evaluate the credentials of a surgeon outside the US. Like the other reviews, I have had experience with poor outcomes with patients seeking such medical tourism. I have taken care of patients with those poor outcomes, but it costs them more money and time and usually the quality of their final result suffers. So you have done some homework, but I would also recommend you check by other channels. I know the CDC keeps records of higher infection rates and recently submitted warnings about a site in the Dominican Republic that has had a large number of post operative infections in American citizens. Finally, whether in the US or elsewhere, cheaper does not always mean same quality and can mean substandard Sometimes when you pay less you get less just like with everything else in life. (Melinda Haws, MD, )