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Sun, sea and Plastic surgery - July 2003

Thanks to countless celebrities and increased accessibility, plastic surgery is slowly shedding its taboo status, though it's still unlikely to top anyone's Biggest Boast list.  Which is possibly why plastic surgery holidays are a fast-growing trend.

Today, about six companies offer package surgery holidays from the UK, taking hundreds of women abroad for treatments every year.  No one knows how many women travel independently but clinics worldwide have noticed an increasing number of British patients checking in.

Soma Evans*, 35, has already opted for one.  'I started a family in my late 20s,' says Sonia.  'Be fore then, I had a really flat stomach but it stretched so much I couldn't see my navel.'  With her self-esteem disappearing along with her belly button, Sonia decided to act.

Two years ago, she went to Johannesburg, South Africa, for a 'holiday'.  Recently divorced, she went alone and only told her parents and close friends the truth about her trip.  I actually went for a tummy tuck,' says Sonia, 'But there was no way I wanted colleagues to know -I would've been a laughing stock.  Going abroad for the op meant they'd never find out.'

Bandages and bikinis
After several online consultations with the surgeon, Sonia booked the procedure over the Internet with a company, but she checked her surgeon was kosher.  'I called the hospitals he worked at to check his credentials,' she says.

'I had surgery in a top private hospital then stayed in a hotel in Johannesburg, set into the side of a mountain.  It was beautiful - the bathroom was the size of my bed room back home!  The aftercare was incredible -I didn't lift a finger.   All this and the whole thing only cost just over £2,200, excluding flights.  In the UK, surgery alone would be around £5,000.'

Sonia was in hospital for two nights, away for a fortnight and, because she was on an organised trip, she didn't have to spend it alone.  'It was great having other patients around.  We'd sit by the pool sporting band ages and swapping surgery stories.  The other guests didn't bat an eyelid.'

'Awake through my nose job!'
Charlotte, 28, from Cheshire had a slightly bumpier ride.  Two weeks after spotting an ad in a health magazine, Charlotte was on her way to Wroclaw in Poland for a nose job - no questions asked. I had a real Roman nose and always kept my hand over my face to hide it', says Charlotte. 'I didn't give myself time to really think,' she says. 'I did get sent some before and after photos of women who'd had rhinoplasty with the same surgeon but that's all.  I don't know if I was optimistic or naive - probably both.'

The surgeon didn't speak English so there had to be a translator during Charlotte's consultation.  It wasn't until Charlotte was on the opera ting table that she started to worry about what she'd let herself in for.

She had a tablet to relax her and a local anaesthetic then realised she wouldn't be having a general anaesthetic.

'I was going to be awake throughout,' she says. ' I now know many surgeons do rhinoplasty under local anaesthetic - at the time I had no idea but it was too late to back out.  It never occurred to me it could have gone wrong.  I asked him to cover my eyes so I wouldn't see him coming at me with the chisel, or whatever he used.

I could feel my skull rattling as he chipped bits of bone off but weird as it sounds, it didn't hurt.' Immediately after the operation, Charlotte was put in a taxi to her apartment for a few days rest and recuperation.  I didn't stay in hospital overnight, although I visited the clinic every day to have my bandages changed and stitches cleaned.' . Like Sonia, Charlotte wasn't alone on her trip—there were three other patients from the UK all in for facelifts.  "Wroclaw is a lovely old town so we all I went out sightseeing with our I bandages on!' says Charlotte.

Her operation cost £1,600, I including flights, accommodation in an apartment, food and surgery.  Three years on, the price is now about £2,100.  'Here, it would've cost about £ 3,500,' says Charlotte, who's delighted with the results.  'My new nose is perfect -it's really boosted my confidence.'

Charlotte's so impressed, she plans to return to Poland later this year for a boob job.   I'd consider somewhere more exotic but I know what to expect in Poland and don't fancy a long-haul flight after surgery.

In fact, says Dr James G Hoehn, General Secretary of IPRAS (International Confederation for Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery), taking a long flight too soon can be fatal.  "When you've been operated on and spent a few days being quite sedentary, your circulation slows down,' he says.'   If you then sit in a plane for ten or 12 hours, blood flow is severely restricted.'  This can up the chances of developing a fatal pulmonary embolism—when a blood clot forms and travels to your lungs.

FINDING A SURGEON
•Visit the ISAPS website, www.isaps.org - members of a nationally recognised society, such as the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, can join.  Also try www.worldplasticsurgery.org, click on the link for IPRAS where you can search for the national plastic surgery organisation for the country of your choice. •  For advice on going abroad for surgery, call Linda Briggs on 01354-610368 or see www.lindabriggs.co.uk.

'I thought my boobs would explode'
There are other risks with travelling for surgery, too. Although most complications strike within a week of the op others can occur months, even years, later, as Sefi Mumoz, 32, from London discovered. She had a breast augmentation in Spain four years ago.

I desperately wanted implants because my boobs had become very empty-looking after years of playing tennis,' she says.   'I opted for Spain because the op would, cost £1,800 compared to £3,000 in London. Plus a friend of mine had recommended a surgeon in Alicante.'

Sefi was assured everything would be fine - forever.  But eight months after surgery, one of her breasts grew hard and swollen.  'It was excruciating, it felt like it was going to explode,' she recalls.  Ref used treatment in London hospitals, Sefi booked a cheap flight back to Alicante.  'The surgeon explained I was suffering from encapsulation - my body had grown extra tissue around the implant.  If he'd mentioned that risk before the operation, I definitely wouldn't have had it done in Spain.'

Sefi couldn't afford a second operation so the surgeon tried to break down the tissue with his hands.  'I screamed, it hurt that much.'  T hen, horrifyingly, he re-opened the original incision to remove some tissue... in his office under local anaesthetic.  It was like torture,' says Sefi.  When it didn't work, Sefi says the surgeon gave up on her.  It was two years before she could pay a Harley Street surgeon' to put things right.

Unsurprisingly, Sefi strongly advises against going for plastic surgery abroad.   'If things go wrong after your op, you can't just go and see your surgeon straight away.  It's complicated and expensive.'

Mike Barratt of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) says: 'If you're considering travelling abroad for surgery, contact the surgeon and the professional body he or she belongs to so you can check his or her qualifications.  Get testimonies from former patients, too.  Visiting your GP for a general health check before going is also wise.'   Make sure your surgeon states — in writing - that if things go wrong, you'll be treated at no extra cost and read the small print of your travel insurance.

Despite the risks, Sonia has no regrets. "The tummy tuck changed my life,' says Sonia. 'I couldn't move forward with anything before, least of all relationships.  I've now got a new boyfriend and I'm more sexually confident than I ever ; was before having the kids.  Going to South Africa was the best decision I could've made.' NW

•Names have been changed