Facelift Surgery Abroad

Face-lifts are amongst the most famous of all cosmetic procedures; around at the beginning of the aesthetic surgery boom, it’s a technique which has become synonymous with Hollywood and with glamour and is now considered one of the best ways to roll back the clock and help yourself look younger. Despite quite a big taboo about them when they first started to become popular, more and more celebrities are “coming out” of the surgical closet and admitting to going under the knife in order to give themselves a youthful glow. Starting off in America, it’s a trend which has now spread to much of the western world as well as other points of the globe as well; if you want a face-lift all you have to do is chose your destination, jump in the aeroplane and, lift-off!; you’re on your way to getting the younger look you’ve been craving.

Face-lifts, more so than more minor procedures like Botox or facial sculpting, are a major procedure which can oftentimes need a lot of recuperation before the patient is ready to show off their new glamorous look. They can be very painful to get over and often leave lots of bruising and scarring which can sometimes take weeks to fade (new technologies are currently coming in which will hopefully reduce the amount of post-operation bruising but these are yet to be rolled out properly and have not, as of yet, reached an international market). Because face-lifts are such a complicated and intense procedure, which literally involves the relaying of the facial skin in order to make it tighter and firmer, they can be very pricey- with U.K companies charging around £6500-£7000 to go under the knife in this way.

Whilst the U.K offers the best in surgical care (perhaps bettered only by the U.S) this is simply too much for some people to consider paying and thus surgical tourism has become the in-vogue way for people to seek a younger face at a cheaper price. The usual precautions which are the same for every cosmetic procedure should be adhered to, but perhaps even more so because this is such a major procedure with a real potential to go wrong.

If a facelift goes a bit wrong, or doesn’t quite have the effect that you were hoping it would do, then you can’t hide it beneath layers of baggy clothes, or cover it up with a hat like you could a failed hair transplant. This is your face; it’s always on display, it’s the first thing everyone notices about you; a good job clearly needs to be done. What all these obvious statements are designed to do is encourage you to think very carefully about the practitioner you choose to perform your face-lift.  

Some country or another may offer you a dramatic saving but are you going to get the level of care you need? Are the doctors going to be skilled enough to perform such an intricate and delicate surgery? What are the chances of post-operation infection in the country of your choice?

How will you keep when you are in immense pain but not near the friends or family who may bring you comfort? These are all questions to consider; you really do need to be mentally, as well as physically, tough enough to seriously consider having a facelift abroad. If you decide you are mentally ready to take on the challenge then there are certainly some amazing bargains to be found which will take years off you.

If you’re just wanting to travel a short distance, then savings of 51% and 61% can be found in France and Belgium respectively. Staying in a country relatively close to the U.K will give you added peace of mind and make flying to your destination much cheaper. If you still want to go a little bit further but fancy keeping within Europe then Eastern European countries such as the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia all offer very cheap prices, some customers have been known to save up to 70% on British prices in the latter. It is important to consider, however, whether the healthcare infrastructures of these countries will be as developed as you would like and whether or not you will get the quality of care which you need.

If you just want to get out of Europe altogether, then you may be interested to know that some surgical-tourists head off to India, South Africa and even to Australia in search of cheaper prices. However, with these countries which are very far away one also has to consider how much the flights there and back will cost and how long you can afford to realistically stay there. It’s all very well saving vast amounts of money on your surgery, but you could end up spending more on your plane tickets than you do on the actual procedure!  

It’s all a balancing act, like trying to reset skin onto a face, it’s something that requires precision, knowledge and skill; you need to weigh up the cost of the procedure, how much it will cost to get to and stay in your destination and what level of care you will receive. The latter really is priceless.

Perhaps it’s also worth considering why you actually want to leave the U.K to have the surgery. If it’s because you feel it’s the glamorous option and something which celebrities would do then you should probably reconsider. Being in pain, stressed and away from your friends and family immediately after a life changing invasive surgical procedure is not something which is all that glamorous, no matter what the Hollywood A-listers may profess to the weekly glossy magazines. 

If you want to save money then make sure you do so sensibly and safely and do as much research as is possible into each clinic or hospital you think has potential. Remember, don’t worry if all the stress gives you some extra wrinkles, your facelift will take care of that!