As living standards grow higher in Taiwan, so have the standards for beauty. For the past few years, cosmetic surgery has become a great trend. Because of the needs of consumers, many cosmetic surgeons have started to introduce new cosmetic surgery techniques and equipment back to Taiwan. Lately because of exposure of the news of Jennifer Sun’s cosmetic surgery trip to Korea, companies have started to advertise “Cosmetic Surgery tours” or act as mediums. They arrange for customers to perform different cosmetics surgeries in other countries, which include lower priced Thailand and advanced Korea. Although cosmetic surgery is not a medical procedure with zero risk, but for some local consumers they have the concept that going abroad is better. But can this kind of “just surgery, no after surgery tracking” cosmetic surgery method really give you the best results?

Cosmetic surgery is an extension of health
Because information has become more transparent the past few years, getting cosmetic surgery is no longer farfetched. From double eyelid surgery to bone contouring, cosmetic surgery has already become widely accepted by the public and has even become a necessary process in becoming beautiful. The only thing is that cosmetic surgery is just a part of medical treatment, and safe cosmetic surgery must be established on a healthy body, to allow the patient and the surgeon to both be satisfied with the results. In other words, without a healthy mindset and body, having just a blind pursuit for beauty and even over-correction will prevent you from feeling the satisfaction of cosmetic surgery, and you may even put your own health at risk.

Cosmetic surgery is not zero risk
The biggest difference between cosmetic surgery and other medical procedures is unlike regular medical treatment where patients take medicine to get rid of the problem, it is a problem that must have aesthetics and“medical satisfaction.” Because it is an unnecessary surgery, consumers will be concerned with the results they get for their money. If the desired results are not achieved after spending money on the surgery, then the surgeon needs to decide if they will fix or save the problem for the patient. This is one of the risks of cosmetic surgery. Other cosmetic surgery complications or after effects may be due to mistakes in design or genetic abnormalities, causing changes in a originally healthy body, and may even take a long period of waiting or recovery. This is another risk of cosmetic surgery. In addition, we sometimes hear about cases where there is improper use of anesthesia or medical allergies occur, which also need to be understood and accepted before full body anesthetic surgery. Combining the above reasons we can find, how to find a certified cosmetic surgeon and a trustworthy medical facility is an important part of the process of becoming beautiful.

The current cosmetic surgery conditions in the Taiwan Market
The development of cosmetic surgery in Taiwan is a little slower, and the concepts are still more conservative, most of the patients are still in the stage of “improving” and not “total modification.” The most practiced procedures in Taiwan in order of popularity are double eyelid surgery, rhinoplasty, and breast augmentation. This shows that local patients still have insecurities about face lifts and bone contouring. Plus the negative reports of the media have psychological impacts on the general public. Actually the cosmetic medical field has been continuously developing surgeon education and systems. Because of increasing competition between doctors, they must constantly upgrade themselves, and many young doctors pursue advanced studies abroad in hope of keeping in tune with international trends. The software is like thus, the hardware is now also more complete and can be compared to hardware available in Japan and Korea. I believe in the next 5 years, domestic cosmetic surgery industry will be like war; survival of the fittest, customers will be able to get cosmetic surgery procedures without any uneasiness.

The article mentioned before the preferred surgeries of domestic customers, most get double eyelid surgery. So surgeons’ view it as a basic technique, the results of the surgery are determined by the aesthetic judgment of the surgeon. But in the past few years the small incision double eyelid surgery introduced from Korea, because of the small scars, it has slowly replaced traditional double eyelid surgery. As for rhinoplasty, many doctors still use the insertion of a simple artificial nose bone. But the newer Korean style rhinoplasty (open rhinoplasty) because it can solve the problems of a large nose tip, upturned nose, or low nose bridge; after the introduction of surgeons including myself; it has also become the number one option for consumers. For breast augmentation surgeries, I have also introduced new technology and concepts from Japan, it has reached the level of totally natural results, and with the same quality standards as Japan. So you can see that cosmetic surgery in Taiwan is constantly being upgrading. After the hard work of many surgeons, another procedure like Korean bone shaving surgery has already reached the same level of quality as Korea. Also worth mentioning is that Taiwan is a leader for endoscope face lift surgery, and many surgeons come from different countries to learn this technique in Taiwan.

I often have patients coming in from Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore, and even Asians from North America or Europe to visit the clinic, the level of cosmetic surgery in Taiwan is still acknowledged.

The pros and cons of Cosmetic Surgery Tourism:
After the description above, I believe that many people feel more confident about the cosmetic surgery skills in Taiwan. But it is undeniable that many companies still have cosmetic surgery treatments packaged in tour itineraries, and promote “cosmetic surgery tour groups.” By providing very low priced packages to attract people to go abroad for cosmetic surgery, the advantages for this service are privacy , recreation, and relaxation; but there are also many hidden risks that cannot be seen on the surface:

I. Information is not transparent:
Consumers do not have clear understanding of the ratings of the clinic and surgeon they will visit, in case there are any disputes; patients often have nowhere to turn to.

II. Language Barriers:
Language barriers can easily cause misunderstandings between the patient and surgeon during communication, often causing the surgery results to not be what was originally desired, but nothing can be done about it at the end.

III. Agents are not medical members:
In case of disputes, normally nothing much can be done; currently the government has no clear regulations for this behavior, and the consumer must be responsible for the consequences.

IV. There is no post surgery tracking system:
Once you return to Taiwan, you are unable to go to the original doctor for checkups. You must know that most surgeries require a tracking time of 3 – 6 months up to a year; if any problems occur during this period, most Taiwan surgeons are unwilling to take over.

The most developed countries for cosmetic surgery tourism are Korea and Thailand. Many clinics are managed as businesses, and when foreign patients encounter local business operated cosmetic surgery clinics, the consumer is definitely at a disadvantage. It is almost impossible to fight for your rights. So whether or not cosmetic surgery tourism is good or bad, you need to judge for yourself.

Cosmetic Surgery Myths:
I often describe cosmetic surgery as a manual industry; it is difficult to guarantee that results will be 100% perfect, so the service after surgery is very important. Using facelifts or double eyelid surgery as examples, the swelling period may be 1-2 weeks or even months, and the evenness, scaring, and maintenance after the swelling subsides need to be regularly tracked. If it is necessary to have a reconstruction surgery, the surgeon must take on the responsibility. This is the only way to establish the surgeon patient relationship on a foundation of trust. Of course surgery is still surgery, it will of course cause temporary damage to body tissue, in the perspective of anti-aging it is still recommended that patients perform regular maintenance, and allow a healthy body to be seen from a youthful appearance. As for cosmetic surgery, let it be an option for your time of need!