BAAPS and BOMSS issue joint statement on surgical tourism

Due to a significant increase in patients travelling abroad for both aesthetic and bariatric (weight loss) surgery, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) and the British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society (BOMSS) have issued a joint statement.

In the statement, BAAPS and BOMSS warned about the risk of surgical tourism and expressed their concerns for patient welfare and safety, due to its links with serious complications and even deaths. Their advice is likely to be useful to UK practitioners who may be in a position to advise potential patients against travelling abroad for high risks surgery.

“BAAPS and BOMSS, the aesthetic and bariatric UK surgical societies are making this unprecedented joint statement due to our concerns for patient welfare and safety,” read the statement. “As professional societies we are concerned by the number of patients presenting with the complications of surgical procedures performed outside the UK. There is an assumption that the NHS will deal with any issues on return home, and a significant financial cost can be attached to the management of complications. This cost might well be down to the patient to pay and must be considered in advance.”

Significantly, both societies acknowledged that economic pressures, concerted advertising, and ready availability have caused a continuous and increasing stream of UK patients to choose to travel abroad for surgery.

For that reason, they also took the opportunity to explain why surgery in the UK’s independent sector is more expensive than in some other countries – an explanation focusing on quality and regulation that UK practitioners should pass on to their potential clients:

“The principle reason is that healthcare in England is tightly regulated by the CQC, in Scotland by the HIS and in Wales by HIW,” explained the statement. “This ensures quality, standards, and ultimately, safety, are as good as possible. Not all countries have the equivalent to CQC regulation, and not all countries’ standards are at the high level of those in the UK.

The specific concerns expressed by BAAPS and BOMSS in the surgical tourism statement were listed as follows:

1. Lack of adequate expert pre-operative assessment, discussion, and counselling.
2. Poor choice of procedure offered, and the number of combined procedures offered in one surgical sitting.
3. Different procedures being performed to the one the patient expected, or the details of the procedure conducted being unknown.
4. Unknown quality and safety of the team providing surgery.
5. Risks of long-distance travel immediately following surgery, for example developing a blood clot in the leg or lung (which can be potentially life-threatening).
6. Poor or non-existent access to routine post-operative follow-up care, increasing the possibility of outcomes such as weight regain and nutritional deficiencies in bariatric patients and increasing the risks of suboptimal outcomes and complications in plastic surgery patients.
7. No direct access to expert care if a complication occurs (and most GPs are not trained in the care of patients who have had bariatric or plastic surgery).

The statement concluded: “Having surgery abroad is certainly less expensive than in the UK, but standards of healthcare regulation overseas often differ from the UK, which means the quality of surgical care can vary significantly. In the event of a problem, clinical and legal redress is much more difficult leaving people exposed and unprotected. Therefore, both the BAAPS and BOMSS strongly urge caution to anyone considering surgical tourism – what cost is your health? Consult a UK Surgeon first.”