yanhee hospital breast augmentation

so, are you taking enough clothes, tiffi? or are you going to buy everything over there? i'm going to buy everything over there! oh, i bet you are! i have been thinking about getting breast implants since i was around 13. going to go and have something foreign put in my bodyis a big thing. i'm very nervous about having an operation. mother and daughter sue and tiffany are heading to thailand on a cosmetic surgery holiday.

i'm going back to complete my dentistry work. i'm really excited, because i know that i'm going to have it all completed this time, and also get a really good holiday. so that will be great. so we've got 21 of our girls here ready to go. they're about to jump on the plane. we've got some breast augmentation, some breast lifts, tummy tucks, we've got nose surgeries -

so there's a bit of a menu happening. so they're very excited - let's get to thailand! get some sun! virginia riddle-cross is the director of somnio, one of australia's most popular medical tourism agencies. she's running the tour that tiffany and sue are leaving on today. we actually arrange the flights, their accommodation. it's a really good resort that's right in the middle

of patong beach. there's a starbucks out the front and there's a maccas to the right. and then all your shops. so we've got all bases covered, i feel. obviously there's support in australia, there's support in thailand or wherever they are going, and make sure that they're well looked after. medical tourism is big business.

globally it's a $100 billion industry. each year at least 15 000 australiansare going under the knife offshore. aussies have been travelling to thailand seeking cheaper medical treatment for over a decade. what's just changed is that patients can now get a 12 month guarantee on sffshore dental and cosmetic surgery under a controversial new product from nib, one of australia's largest health insurers. this is a worldwide phenomenon.

people are travelling across borders for medical treatment. what we're trying to do is make it all the more trustworthy and safer. you can think of our business as combined tripadvisor and expedia. so we not only help the customer make a decision, about their purchase, we then fulfill the sale. but leading australian cosmetic surgeon, dr nick moncrieff sees the darker side of medical tourism.

he disgarees with nib supporting australians going offshore for surgery. you can see there's a teardrop shaped hole in the nasal tip, and there's a silicon prosthesis underneath that hole where the skin is ulcerated, leaving this lady with a terrible unsightly looking nose. dr moncrieff has fixed hundreds of botched nose jobs, tummy tucks, and breast augmentations gone bad in thailand. the majority of the implant is actually below the nipples

and far too low, the second thing you can see ia this double bubble formation, where you can see the implant and an extra piece of skin below the implant - it looks completely unnatural and quite deformed. the australian medical association is concerned the nib package makes offshore surgery seem safer, despite the high risk of complication. they warm that medicare may end up footing the bill

for failed procedures. many of these surgieres have a much longer complication time and much longer follow-up time than just a year. so that cost will ultimately be borne by the australian heath system in some way. in australia to fix this problem would cost somewhere between $15,000 and $17,000, of which the taxpayer, if you're uninsured, is probably picking up the bill for $1000-$2000.

if the patient is insured, the taxpayer and the health fund are picking up $12,000 of that $17,000. look, i can understand their concerns. it's a typical reaction - this is brand new, it sounds threatening. it's happening already - whether nib options exist or not, it's not going to stop australians travelling overseas. so you're either on this train or you're under it, as i see it. there are claims that nib is simply cashing in

on a very lucrative industry. how are you safeguarding australians travelling overseas for surgery? first of all, they know that we're doing thefront-end quality assurance. and they know if there is a problem - and inevitably there'll be problems from time to time - they have nib standing behind them. my concerns on having breast surgery was seeing a lot of horror stores and the breastsnot being right, but i think for me the good outweighs the bad.

there is a high risk - that's because this is an industry that hasn't been properly regulated, so we're reducing that risk and exposure straight away. in a move to rid anxiety from patients like tiffany nib will vet doctors in thailand and the hospitals they work in. if australians do suffer any complications, they can have it dealt with in australia at no extra cost for up to one year. in our time of operation, four years, since sending in excess of 1000 people for procedures,

we've seen less than 1% have corrective surgery. in australia, breast implants will set you back $8,000-$12,000. in thailand, new boobs are under $4,000. a facelift here will cost you $10,000. in thailand, that halves to around $5,000. tummy tucks onshore are $7,000 - $8,000. offshore, around $5,000. dental implants range from $3,500 - $7,500 in australia, compared to a starting price of $2,000 in thailand.

you can have a brand spanking new hospital with shiny floors and marble benchtops, but it doesn't mean that the processes are going to be as stringent and as strictly controlled as they arein australia. of all the adverse outcomes that need to be dealt with when people come home, people can concievably get very very ill, and if you get to intensive care, we're talking tens of thousands of dollars potentially.

the new fund will inevitably increase the competition for australian surgeons. i don't think that this process should be facilitatedany further by an australian insurance provider doing thisto make money, to increase their profit, not because they have the interests ofpatients at heart. in addition to overseas packages, nib will also offer cosmetic surgery options in australia, and has signed up 21 plastic surgeons locally.

people should look at the quality of the product in this coiuntry, we've got properly trained surgeons, hospital accreditation that you can rely on, if you have a complication the surgeon who did the work will be the person looking after you. we have a great system in this country, and people should be confident that you can get very good treatment right here. the nib options package is already on the market.

vriginia says, more so than ever before, it makes thailand an attractive option. i'm all for reputable companies coming in to the medical tourism industry, and having nib has been a real positive i think for the industry in general. in regards to somnio, it brings more awareness to travelling overseas and having a procedure done. and people jumping on that computer and

and actually doing some research, and then coming to us.