We’ve often written and advised about the perils of having cosmetic plastic surgery overseas – say, Thailand – where the cost of:

• Airfare
• Lodging
• Plastic surgery

may be less that the cost of the same surgery in the United States.

Or, for Southern Californians, several hours drive takes you to Mexico and far less expense for what is often advertised as “comparable” cosmetic surgery.

But there are quite a few “what-ifs” smart consumers must answer before signing up and taking off.

Here’s just one such for-instance:

• What if I have a surgical complication after going home?
• Who treats and pays for corrective surgery then?
• Can I get my money back from a foreign surgeon?

          (Read more about what to do before having plastic surgery overseas.)

Some time ago, we saw a patient who had selected a clinic in Mexico for a facelift. She later came to us because she noticed black spots – pictured to the left — behind her ears.

It turned out the black spots were dead skin caused by after-surgery stitches being placed too tightly and choking off the blood supply.

(Incisions are placed around the ears in order to take up loose facial skin. Read more about the face and neck liftprocedure.)

We were able to help by taking her back to surgery, removing the dead skin and placing the stitches correctly.

On another occasion, a patient who went out of the country for plastic surgery later came to our office to get help with a plastic surgery procedure that had also gone wrong.

          (See some face and neck lift before & after pictures…. done correctly)

This patient had a tummy tuck which requires a very long incision across the midsection. She later developed an infection, so we took her into surgery, corrected the procedure and referred her to a specialist for follow-up care.

We asked why she came to us, being that we specialize in cosmetic plastic surgery procedures of the head and neck.

          (See the plastic surgery procedures in which we specialize.)

She replied: “Because your office is the closest to the elevator.”

Thus, her offshore plastic surgery procedure to save money resulted in:

• A dangerous infection
• Limited her walking ability
• A great deal of pain