National report — For American patients pursuing cheaper cosmetic procedures in locations from Mexico to Brazil and beyond, serious complications remain relatively rare, sources say. However, those that do occur often leave domestic doctors with little or no knowledge of the materials and procedures employed, while patients are often left without legal, financial or even medical recourse. Rising demand
"For cosmetic surgery," Ms. Potter adds, "Americans may be seeking what would be considered cost-effective, quality services outside the United States because they're paying out of pocket." Location, location, location
But now, he says, "At least three to five times yearly, we see a result that needs to be redone." Experts say coastal and border states tend to see such patients most frequently. Nevertheless, Bruce Cunningham, M.D., says he sees one to two acute cases yearly in his capacity as professor of plastic surgery at the University of Minnesota.
In such cases, he says, "Patients need to take it easy for a while, but in fact, they're often put on a plane after two or three days." More commonly, Dr. Cunningham says, "Many of us see patients a couple years later when things haven't worked out. Or sometimes, they want to get something else done and they mention incidentally that they had a breast augmentation in Brazil, for example." Liabilities and limited data When patients go abroad, "One of the biggest problems is absence of continuity of care," says Ed Lack, M.D. He is president of MetropolitanMD in Chicago and president-elect of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS). Patients who return home and become disenchanted with their results usually have nowhere to turn, he notes. Similarly, Dr. Lack says, "If we need to know whether something was or was not done at the time of surgery, it's virtually impossible to get that kind of information." When patients present with postoperative problems, "We have to clean up afterwards," says Seth Matarasso, M.D., clinical professor of dermatology, University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine. "Frequently, one doesn't know what one is battling," he says. |
