Traveling to Brazil, or for that matter — to any country, for "Medical Tourism" is potentially dangerous to your health. Do one or the other: go either for tourism or for medical procedures but not for both. Brazil is a great option for surgery and an ever greater option for tourism but the two items together sometimes do not mix. Tourism is an active venture of walking, climbing, standing, etc., while surgery is a sedentary process which requires a good period of rest so that the patient can heal properly.
Most people do not have the luxury of time to go site-seeing before an operation nor during the weeks following a surgical procedure. The reality is that in most cases you will travel anywhere from 8 to 12 hours to the country and another 8 to 12 hours on your return home; right there killing two days. At least two additional days are spent with a series of activities such as meeting with your surgeon to plan your surgery (also used to confirm whether or not you trust the surgeon enough to operate on you), checking into the hospital and having the surgery. ..if everything is planned correctly. Then comes a recuperation period that may last anywhere from 10 days to 2 weeks. From your arrival to your departure, plan on a minimum two week period for the whole plastic surgery process, including the proper time for healing. The actual length of stay will depend on variables such as your healing capacity, the type and number of procedures that you are having done, etc.
It is tempting to consider those 10 days to 2 weeks of recuperation as open for exploring the country but that idea could be detrimental to your correct healing. It sounds boring for you to go all the way to Brazil only to lie in bed in a hotel room watching CNN and HBO, but that is what you will need to do. Many people worry about the surgery being difficult however the reality is that the post operation period may be more difficult, not because of pain or anything like that, but because you will have a daily battle against your natural need for activity and movement. In today's "go-go" society, most people can not imagine sitting still for one day just reading a book, much less one week. This will be one of your greatest challenges.
If you do not keep still and rest you will risk ruining the results of your operation. At the very least you will stretch your sutures, leading to ugly wide scars that will remain with you for a very long time. Next in the complication scale is the possibility of popping some of your sutures which, if lucky, will have to be re-sewed at your surgeon's clinic. In the worst cases you will be asked to again check into the hospital for reparation surgery, costing you more money and delaying your return home even more. No photograph of you posing in front of some landmark is worth the risk of these after-surgery complications.
Come back to Brazil for a follow-up visit with your surgeon and then take time to visit the vastness of the country (unless you decide on doing another operation). The key is not to think about going for the medical tourism anywhere in the world. Thailand, the Philippines, Costa Rica, et al., Sound enticing but that is only at an emotional level. The rational part of you should be focusing on obtaining the best possible results, offered by a highly experienced surgeon, and a complete recovery, so that you can go back home to show off your beautiful new you.
Read more: Three Key Things to Know about Plastic Surgery in Brazil [http://www.clinicamariangela.com/English/BrasilSurgery.htm]
Read more: Plastic Surgery from the Point of View of a Female Plastic Surgeon [http://www.clinicamariangela.com/English/Feminine%20View%20.htm]
Copyright: Francisco Becerra – Clinica Mariangela Santiago (São Paulo, Brazil)