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Medical tourism has grown rapidly over the past two decades, especially for cosmetic surgery. Many patients are drawn to it because it is less expensive, but the practice carries medical risks. It can also create added costs for the public healthcare system in the patient’s home country, which may have to manage and pay for postoperative complications once patients return.

Turkey Leads the Way

More and more clinics around the world are offering surgeries — particularly dental and cosmetic procedures, as well as transplants and other treatments — seeking to attract international patients with attractive prices that often include recovery stays at affiliated hotels or tourist sites.

“The principle is simple: Have surgery in Tunisia, Turkey, or Thailand — it’s warm, it’s cheaper, and you get the feeling of enjoying a few days by the pool before and after the surgery,” summed up Flore Delaunay, plastic surgeon, during a presentation at the 2026 annual congress of the French Society of Aesthetic and Plastic Surgeons, which was recently held in Biarritz, France. 

Financially speaking, the trip quickly pays for itself: Breast augmentation costs an average of €4500 in France compared to an estimated €2000 in Tunisia.

Among the most popular destinations for Europeans, Turkey leads the way for hair and dental procedures. Medical tourism is a financial boon for the country: Current estimates put the market’s value at $3.5 billion, and project that cosmetic tourism could bring in $17 billion for Turkey by 2035. “It’s truly a very large market and a real opportunity for them and for us as well,” commented Delaunay. Tunisia and Thailand are also major destinations, especially for cosmetic surgery such as liposuction, breast implants, and facelifts.

Inadequate Training, Hygiene, and Patient Information

This option — which offers the chance to combine business with pleasure — does not, however, offer only advantages, Delaunay pointed out, and the issues are numerous. First, the training of healthcare professionals abroad varies greatly. “Many surgeons in Tunisia, Morocco, and Thailand are highly skilled, but there are also those who are less so.”

Second, hygiene standards often leave much to be desired. Third, patient information is lacking. “The legally mandated 15-day waiting period does not exist in these countries; patients sometimes only see the surgeon the day before the procedure.”

Similarly, informed consent is often insufficient; there is no comprehensive information.

“Surgeries are performed without analyzing potential contraindications, and patients with contraindications are sometimes operated on. This is tragic,” Delaunay said. Postoperative care is clearly insufficient, and the risks for tobacco-related complications are often overlooked.

Particularly High-Risk Procedures

In addition to these concerns, some procedures carry particularly high risk, especially when multiple surgeries such as breast augmentation, implant placement, and tummy tucks are performed on the same day. Breast implant surgery, in particular, comes with its own set of risks.

“Most patients don’t know the brand of the implant,” she said. The implants may not be traceable, and some are even produced in violation of regulatory standards. “If the standards in France are strict, there’s a reason for that: patient safety,” the speaker said. In addition, these faraway destinations often require patients to fly just a few days after surgery, which can increase the risk of thromboembolism, including phlebitis and pulmonary embolism — a risk that is often underestimated.

As a result of these sometimes overly lax approaches, the risks for complications are numerous — the most common being postoperative infections linked to poor hygiene. Delays in diagnosis and treatment are not uncommon: “Patients arrive in France when the pain becomes severe, often after staying abroad without seeking medical attention,” explained the plastic surgeon. 

“During consultations or at the hospital, we sometimes discover an infected implant,” she said. “We then tell the patient [the vast majority are women] that she needs to be hospitalized and treated in the surgical intensive care unit because she is in a state of sepsis, has a fever, and has infection sites all over her body. The bacteria are mostly multidrug-resistant, which leads to very intensive treatment, sometimes lasting 2 months or even longer.”

Other risks, less frequent than infection, include delayed healing, skin necrosis, complications following a tummy tuck (abdominal necrosis), which require very long-term treatment — sometimes 6 months or even longer.

Finally, patient dissatisfaction can be significant. A breast augmentation or implant procedure performed by a surgeon without adequate training can lead to poor cosmetic results, including implant malposition, visible scarring, and improperly placed implants. In some cases, the aesthetic and medical consequences can be serious in the medium and long term and may even be permanent.

Complications: Who Pays?

“Often, patients are treated in a public hospital because the medical-legal risk is significant and the insurance of the surgeon and clinics abroad do not always cover these complications,” said Delaunay. The French healthcare system is therefore left to cover the costs of surgeries performed abroad. In a 2025 article, a team in Marseille that treats many patients who have undergone surgery abroad estimated the cost of complications per patient at €2700 to €16,900, with an average of €8500 per patient.

“Social Security may seek reimbursement from patients if it determines that the expenses are related to medical tourism, and because this is costly, it will likely do so more and more,” the speaker warned.

This story was translated from Medscape’s French edition.