Recently the American Society of Plastic Surgeons released a video warning plastic surgery patients
about the potential dangers of traveling abroad for cosmetic procedures. Patients should be aware of
the fact that foreign countries have a significantly different standard of care than the United States
does.
“Medical tourism is the complete reverse of the traditional medical model of patients traveling from
developing countries to the United States or Western Europe to seek out the best medical care. In this
situation you have Americans traveling to these lesser known locations to combine some R&R with their
medical procedure, usually at a substantially lower price,” said Dr. Parker.
Every type of plastic surgery procedure that’s done in the United States can be done and is offered to
patients along with travel and hotel packages for convenience. While cosmetic surgery was the first
type of surgery offered by these medical tour companies (due to no insurance coverage for elective
procedures), the field has grown to offer every type of conceivable medical treatment and procedure.
“Not only must patients consider the lower standards of care, but they must also consider the variability
of the results. This is something I’ve seen in my own practice. I’ve had patients who have gone to
Columbia, Ecuador, Mexico and other countries for surgery and are very unhappy with their results.
Consequently, they have me perform a more expensive corrective surgery,” explained Dr. Parker.
Dr. Parker explained that a patient’s best chance for an optimal outcome is with a good first surgery.
Corrective surgery by second or following doctors may improve a poor result but it will never match the
quality from a first time, well done procedure.
Patients seeking plastic surgery in New Jersey find the Parker Center for Plastic Surgery offers their
patients a safe, caring environment with over 20 years of surgical experience and high quality results.
Dr. Parker believes that patient education is a foundation of his cosmetic surgery philosophy and
ensures that patients understand their procedure completely.
To learn more about any plastic surgery procedure, call the Parker Center for Plastic Surgery at (201)
967-1212 for a consultation. Visit our website at www.parkercenter.net to read actual patient
stories, see hundreds of before and after photos and watch videos of animated procedures.
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