Medical Tourism : Cosmetic Surgery

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Cosmetic Surgery is a subspecialty of plastic surgery that is concerned with improving the aesthetic appearance of a person. Unlike reconstructive plastic surgery, cosmetic surgery uniquely restricts itself to the enhancement of appearance through surgical and medical techniques. In the US and other parts of the world, cosmetic surgery is defined as an elective, non-essential surgery that the patient chooses to have. On the other hand, plastic or reconstructive surgery is concerned with improving function and to reconstruct or improve a patient’s facial and body defects due to birth disorders, trauma, burns, or disease. Most medical insurance will pay for reconstructive plastic surgery, but not cosmetic surgery.

Cosmetic surgery is specifically concerned with maintaining, restoring, or enhancing the patient’s normal appearance towards some aesthetic ideal. There are surgical cosmetic procedures and non-surgical cosmetic procedures. Non-surgical cosmetic procedures include: microdermabrasion, laser skin resurfacing, Botox injections, Hyaluronic Acid (Hylaform, Juvederm, Restylane), laser hair removal, and sclerotherapy injections for small varicose veins and spider veins. Surgical cosmetic procedures include: tummy tuck (abdominoplasty), eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty), nose job (rhinoplasty), ear surgery (otoplasty), facelift (rhytidectomy), brow lift, chin augmentation, cheek augmentation, cheek lift, ammoplasty: breast augmentation, breast reduction, mastopexy (breast lift), and male breast reduction (gynecomastia), lower-body lift: buttock augmentation, and buttock lift, labiaplasty, liposuction (suction-assisted lipectomy), fat injections, and collagen injections.

The decision to have cosmetic surgery should not be taken lightly by the patient. Any type of surgery always involves some level of risk and complications can occur. Because there is no guarantee that you will get the results you want, you need to speak with your doctor and measure the possible benefits of cosmetic surgery against the possible problems or dangers that could result from surgery. Consequently, a cosmetic surgeon needs to combine his/her surgical judgment, technical expertise, and ethics in order to achieve the goal of providing aesthetic improvement to their patients. It is important to have realistic expectations about cosmetic surgery

If you have a particular cosmetic procedure you are interested in, look for it in our PROCEDURES LIST . By clicking on the specific procedure or sorting by "class" you will be able to find the facilities that have indicated that they perform that particular procedure. Our list may not have all the possible cosmetic procedures that are available, but it will give you a number of choices from where you can begin your search.

Search our database to discover what services are available to address your needs. Whether it's facilities, services, or consultants you seek, you'll find them here at OnlineMedicalTourism.com. And if you don't, please let us know.

To learn more about plastic and cosmetic surgery in the UK visit the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, (BAAPS) consumer safety guidelines website .

To learn more about plastic and cosmetic surgery in the US visit the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) website .