Is The Cosmetic Surgery Boom Attributed to Medical Tourism?

The question that has boggled many is “if the healthcare cost including is overwhelming high in the US, then how come Americans are among the top ten nations to undergo cosmetic surgeries? Well, the answer to this can be summarized in two words “medical tourism”.  Due to high healthcare cost, many people in the US consider medical tourism as a viable option for cosmetic surgeries.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, medical related purchases like medicine and surgeries cost significantly lower in other parts of the world than in the US.

Some of the top destinations for cosmetic surgeries include Brazil, South Africa and Mexico. Keeping US cost as a benchmark, studies show that cosmetic care in Mexico can help people save 10 to 50% or sometimes even more.
The massive cost saving factor has propelled individuals to travel to developing countries for cosmetic surgeries. This is backed by the research conducted by the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open, the official open access medical journal of the ASPS (American Society of Plastic Surgeons).

More Medical Tourists Are Travelling For Cosmetic Surgery

Though the concept of travelling for medical care is not new but previously people from third world countries traveled more often to developed countries for high quality medical treatments. But not anymore!

In fact the concept of medical tourism has evolved greatly over the decade and now developing nation citizens are also actively seeking medical tourism to access less costly medical and surgical procedures like cosmetic and plastic surgeries.
Though the high medical cost in western countries is a factor, another factor for the shift is the cosmetic plastic surgical procedures are not covered by insurance.

What’s striking about Medical Tourism from the Western Countries?

Talking of low surgical cost, what has significantly promoted the US and the developed countries citizens to opt for medical tourism for cosmetic procedures are:

• The medical facilities are top notch
• Cosmetic surgeries are carried by certified, experienced and highly skilled surgeons
• Countries like Mexico, are ideal for surgical procedures like cosmetic surgery as it has plenty of accredited hospitals and state of the art technology to deliver highest quality surgical treatments to medical tourists.
• The cost is fairly low even after you combine the cost of the cosmetic operation and airfare.

Fostering Medical Tourism Industry

In many countries like Mexico, Thailand and Brazil, governments are working actively to promote and foster their medical tourism industry particularly for services that have high demand like cosmetic surgeries including plastic surgeries and dentistry. Some destinations are now marketing their medical procedures performed in a beautiful resort like setting.

This encourages patients to combine a pleasant vacation along with cosmetic surgery to a desired destination. So you can get your cosmetic procedure at a great price cut and at the same time have a great vacation.

So, if you are considering cosmetic surgery and you are up for medical tour, then it is recommendable to opt for Mexico. It has outstanding cultural diversity, heritage, world-class tourism and unbeatable healthcare infrastructure and facilities.