Thousands of Americans are crossing the border in search of the fountain of youth in Mexico. They come wearing sweats, T-shirts and flip flops, carrying cash strapped to their soon to be liposuctioned, and flat tummy tucked tummies. They are getting new faces, breasts and ever bigger lips. But at what cost? That is the question at hand.
The director of Mexico's associations of plastic surgeons, Dr. Jose Luis Romero Zarate, was recently Quoted in an Interview as saying," There are some border surgeons with questionable credentials. We are worried because this is a growing problem. I would advise potential patients to do their homework in order to keep their quest for beauty from turning ugly.
To be sure there are deals in Plastic surgery to be had in Mexico. The cost is about half the prices in the US. There are, however some scary stories coming back with American patients, stories about medicines being dispensed in ketchup bottles, flies buzzing around their head during surgery. A few people have turned gangrene and compilations are common. How common is anybody's guess as there is no way to tell percentage wise what to expect and there is no governing body to turn to for accurate numbers.
In fact the trend has had an unexpected side effect on the plastic surgeons on the US side, close to the border towns. All are reporting a heavy rise in patients seeking corrective surgery from their trips across the border. Dr. Wilkinson a San Antonio plastic surgeon who's been practicing for more than 30 years said "The Doctors on the border don't give a damn," Wilkinson says dozens of patients come to him for repair work after having surgery in Mexico.
"We're seeing not only bad surgery, but preventable complications," Wilkinson says. He says some doctors operating in border clinics do not have proper training. "They're giving all the excellent, properly-trained Mexican surgeons a bad name," Wilkinson says.
The numbers of Americans crossing the Mexico border for plastic surgery continue to rise every year as Americans seek out ever cheaper plastic surgery. But the motto seems to be buyer beware.
Richard McClack
