Is Thailand Safe for Cosmetic Surgery?

As the largest cosmetic surgery company in Australasia, we are often asked “Is Thailand actually safe for cosmetic surgery?” Let us tell you the answer is 100% yes.

Thailand World No. 1 for Medical Travel

Thailand is the No. 1 medical tourism destination in the world, with over 2 Million foreign visitors arriving each year for surgery, medical procedures and treatments. To put Thailand’s No. 1 position into perspective, the annual global medical tourism industry is valued in excess of $US 100 Billion (source – Medical Tourism Association USA).

Hospital Standards Vary

Despite being the number 1 destination for medical tourism, not all hospitals in Thailand have the same standards. As there are almost 70 million people living in Thailand there are many hospitals needed to handle the demand of people. Thailand does have a selection of hospitals that rank amongst the most modern in the world, with the finest medical facilities and equipment, the highest patient safety standards and infection control protocols. A number are also accredited by US and European hospital ratings organisations – some even accredited and endorsed for cosmetic surgery by a subsidiary of NIB, one of Australia’s largest health insurance companies with over 1,000,000 Australian members.

CosMediTour Hospital Selection

CosMediTour ONLY USES the newest, best and safest internationally accredited Hospitals in Bangkok and Phuket! We do not promote and have never promoted individual or group travel to any hospitals outside these locations. All four of the hospitals CosMediTour uses in Thailand are accredited by the international JCI Hospital Accreditation organisation, with the World Medical Center also accredited by the DNV-GL Healthcare Organisation.

15,000 Happy Australian cosmetic surgery patients each year!

There is a lot of Australian media misinformation about medical standards in Thailand, based on a handful of unfortunate patient experiences during or following cosmetic surgery in Thailand. Dr Meredith Jones of the University of Technology in Sydney conducted a study into the medical tourism industry, and estimated that approximately 15,000 Australians travel overseas every year for elective cosmetic surgery. Almost all of these Australians travel to Thailand with a small number to Malaysia and Vietnam. The fact that only a handful of negative patient experiences are covered in the Australian media each year with headlines like ‘botched surgery’ and ‘cosmetic surgery nightmare’ reminds us that “headlines sell media stories”. Much more importantly, the minuscule number of cases is testimony to the overwhelming success rate for the remainder of the 15,000 Australians who have positive overseas surgery outcomes.

Infections & ‘Superbugs’

Some in the Australian medical fraternity are quick to describe every infection contracted by Australians who have undergone overseas surgery as resulting from ‘exotic superbugs’ – a term that makes for sensationalist media headlines. The definition of a Superbug is a strain of bacteria that has become resistant to antibiotic drugs. It is not some exotic foreign bacteria lurking in offshore hospitals waiting for unsuspecting Australian visitors to infect. In fact, thousands of patients in many of Australia’s best known hospitals contract a Superbug infection every year. Most have contracted the world’s most famous superbug that has resulted in the deaths of many thousands of Australians in Australian hospitals over the past decade. It is MRSA, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, aka ‘Golden Staph’. Hospital selection is a critical factor in the avoidance of Superbug infections, with the hospital’s infection control protocols paramount. No CosMediTour patient has ever acquired a Superbug infection in a CosMediTour partner hospital in Thailand.

Why CosMediTour is the Most Trusted Cosmetic Surgery Company

More Australians trust CosMediTour with their cosmetic surgery than any other company. We have the highest percentage of satisfied patients and optimal surgery outcomes of any company for many reasons – especially our selection of Surgeons who we choose to work with. We work with the most famous Thai Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeons in Bangkok and Phuket, and we also work with leading Australian Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeons on the Gold Coast and in Sydney.

Our Thai and Australian Surgeons perform cosmetic surgery on thousands of Australian CosMediTour patients every year.

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