Medical tourism is popular as people seek to get cheap cosmetic procedures or skip bariatric surgery waiting lists.

However, 6 Irish citizens have died in past 2 years, and 22 UK citizens have died in past 5 years following medical tourism.   There are no reliable statistics on rates of surgical complications that do not result in death, but anecdotally, the number is significant.

What are the risks?

• Infection, including sepsis

• Surgical complications: including wound breakdown, scar problems, clots

• Complications from the anaethesia

• Depending on where you are traveling, lack of proper sterility may raise risk of blood borne infections such as Hepatitis B

• Lack of adequate medical documentation – if you do need care after your surgery, your doctors here in Ireland have no records to aid in making medical decisions

• Uninformed decision-making – differences in what constitutes a fully informed consent and language barriers

• Standard of care may not be the same as it is in Ireland, and likely to have fewer consumer/legal/patient protections

• Financial: Patients are likely to face large self-pay bills to have any complications or problems treated in Irish private hospitals.

When it comes to cosmetic procedures:  one risk is that the result may not be what the patient had wanted or expected.  Lack of follow-up is a problem.

Bariatric surgery poses an entirely next level of risks:

• All of the problems mentioned above

• Use of non-standard treatments. Lap Bands are not the standard of care anymore for obesity (note:  this applies to “aesthetic clinics” in Irelands who exploit patients by still providing this out-of-date procedure).  They simply don’t work and have a high level of complication — up to 40% will need to be removed – and at the patient’s own additional expense

• Obesity is a complex disease and requires extensive pre-op care and extensive post-op care including nutritional input, psychological assessment and ongoing care, and multi-discplinary care. Complications after gastric sleeve or gastric bypass can be complex and require expert teams to help manage, and can include things such as dumping syndrome, disordered eating, substance use, and psychological complications.

Best Advice Before considering travel abroad:

• Talk to an independent expert – not someone who is selling you a medical tourism package or procedure.  This should, ideally, be your GP or your hospital consultant. Getting a consultation/second-opinion with an independent Irish consultant privately should be strongly considered.

• Never travel alone.  Have someone with you to advocate for you should you become unwell, and to travel back with you.

• Make sure you have complete understanding of what your surgeon and anaesthetists qualifications are – and what they should be.

• Makes sure you know your patient and consumer rights in the country you will be travelling to.  They may not be the same as it is in Ireland.

• Check the accreditation of the hospital that you will be travelling to.  Looking for JCI (Joint Commission International).

• In the case of bariatric surgery through cross-border initiatives, make sure that you have a team involved in your care before you go for your surgery and in place for follow-up when you return.

Medical tourism companies often exploit patient feelings of desperation or low self-esteem. But you – and your health – are worth the best care.