The Centers for Disease control is warning Americans against traveling to Mexico for plastic surgery, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Nearly one dozen Americans who traveled to Tijuana for plastic surgery due to the substantially lower cost for the procedure, which is frequently not covered by U.S. insurance plans because of its 'cosmetic' nature returned with dangerous 'superbug' antibiotic-resistant infections.
And Dr. Susan Pike at Baylor Scott and White Hospital tells News Radio 1200 WOAI that if there is a complication with any operation performed in Mexico, U.S. health insurance won't cover it.
"When we talk about serious infection, the dollars placed on treating that is very high," she said.
It has long been a habit for Americans to travel to Mexico or to Canada for cheaper drugs or medical treatment, because costs are more rigorously controlled in those countries. But Dr. Pike says you need to understand the total cost, including the fact that any effort made to correct infections or surgical errors from Mexican operations will come out of your own pocket.
"If you have some type of a devastating complication from surgery abroad, you will be financially responsible for that," she said.
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