Has anyone heard of or used the cosmetic institute

Hey everyone ive been in the planning stage for my BA for quite a while now and I was told about this page which I can already tell is going to help me heaps!! I still have another year to plan as im wanting to pay my debt off before my BA and im also wanting to loose weight before I get it done. Anyways the point of posting was because in tossing up between going to puket to get them done or a company in Australia called the cosmetic institute which will be the same price but closer to where I live (New Zealand). I was wondering if anyone has any feed back on either options or experiences! Thanks in advance gals :) xx

Hi and welcome!

I can't comment on either of those as have no experience however I would recommend looking at ones closer to home simply because if aftercare access. If something were to go wrong, or you needed to see your surgeon, what provisions would be in place for you after the op?

I know that travelling abroad can be cheaper, but often paying that little extra does buy you peace of mind which is priceless.

When I was younger and first started looking at getting a BA, I was looking at clinics in Europe, attracted by the price tag being £2k cheaper than here in the UK, however 12 years later when getting a BA finally became a reality, I realised the importance of remaining local (by local I mean england for me, not necessarily same city), simply because in the event of after op issues, help would be at hand.

Hope thus helps

X

Hi Welcome to the forum! We're mostly UK here, so aren't familiar with the clinics further afield, but we do have one other New Zealander.

In the meantime, the only comment I would make is if you're thinking of using Thailand, really REALLY do your research. Not just on the surgeons, but on the hospital, access to aftercare, anaesthetist etc, the whole shebang. Are they're not any Clinics in NZ that you can consider?

Thanks heaps, yes there's lots to put into consideration a lot of people I've been talking to ( on other support groups/ facebook pages) have said not Thailand as there not very reliable for correcting problems that go wrong, which was a big turn off. I think I'm heading more towards an ausie company. I wish I could afford to get it done here in new Zealand but the price is ridiculous! The other New Zealander i already know, she's the one that had put me onto this page :)

Hi Katie,

I used to live in Thailand and  have a friend from the US who had her boobs done in Bangkok about 10 years ago. Luckily, everything went well and they are still fine yeas on. But, I have heard some really terrible stories from people who have had a cosmetic holiday to Thailand. . The hospitals etc in Bangkok are generally of a high standard but not sure about Phuket. But it was the language barrier and the regulations which were the downfall, as well as mentioned before the aftercare. As its not as regulated, once they have your money, many companies there don't take the aftercare seriously, especially for complications. Also, complications can arise years and years down the line, where it would be easier to get care and even fight for it if you need to nearer home. If you did have problems with the company, such as PIP implants and Harley Medical Group, at least you can turn up on their doorstep. Its easy for companies to ignore phonecalls and emails when they know you live thousands of miles away. It can also cost a hell of a lot more in the long run. Anyway, that's just my second-hand personal experience. Hope this helps x

Yeah that's pretty much all I've been hearing about Thailand and to be honest an awesome holiday would not be worth paying all the money for my BA for it to turn around and be way more expencive in the long run ild rather just get it done properly the first time and be able to contact the company or hospital if complications do occur!!

Great advise already given Katie and fab to see you've seen the reasoning behind the comments. 

We've seen far too mad sad stories from women having surgeries abroad to advise anything but what the ladies have already offered. 

Please let us know how you get on with searching for a surgein closer to home...and welcome to forum Katie 

I doubt very much you'd even really be able to benefit from the holiday anyway.  You wouldn't really been feeling up to going out, and you'd have to be wearing a sports bra and keep incisions hidden that a good week of it would not be much of a holiday anyway.

What are the prices like in NZ?  What do they compare with Aus once you've factored in travel, accommodation, potential return flights back etc?  Is the difference hugely significant?

xx

The surgery in new zealand not even considering having to pay to travel to a different city and back plus accomodation is around $15,000 on its own. It would end up being 10,000 plus traveling to Australia accomadation and spending money to go over to aus to get it doneand the same with Thailand. And there's no way I would get it done in the city I live in as I've heard someone else have complications with thers.

You're always going to hear of someone somewhere having complications and no matter how fantastic ANY surgeon is, with this surgery comes the risk of complication and ALL surgeons will have had to deal with them, so don't let knowing someone had complications put you off having surgery where you live. 

What you need to be focusing on is the skill of the surgeon, because although there are some complications beyond a surgeons control, the ones that aren't can be lessened by the skill of the surgeon. 

So maybe take a look through this website HERE and there's a section on there to find the most skilled surgeon where you live on there. The key is to see a few surgeons, seeing the best ones is a bonus and compare surgery plans and how you felt about the surgeon themselves - if they're willing to give you time and attention and talk you through all your wants, need and fears pre-op, then these are the ones that are going to talk to you about your wants, your needs and your fears post-op should YOU be one of the unlucky ones to have a complications and given that they're fully qualified and a good surgeon they're also going to be the ones that will help you through the revision as drama free as possible and you aren't going to know you have the best surgeon for you, unless you have at least one other surgeon and surgery plan to compare to. Xx

So Im possibly getting my BA done in puket in Thailand in still deciding if I want to go through an Australian company or one in Thailand to get it done. But either way I need to research about the surgeon, so what is a good and legit site to find out if a surgeon has all the needed qualifications ect! I have been asking around on different pages too find out what surgeon's are good and which arnt but I would feel a lot more comfortable knowing that they are actually qualified to be doing what they are doing!!! TIA 

Hi have you looked up this surgeon on the internet? Is he Registered? so done can quote if I'm wrong but you can always generally find out about a surgeon on the internet if you can't find him on this forum. Xx

As in just google him? Xx

although the clinic where I went was a recommendation from a friend, the surgeon she used was not. I went for a consultation with a surgeon who works at this clinic and typed his name into the internet. There was a write up about him on the clinic site but that was not enough. All the info I needed was on the internet. He was a registered surgeon which to me us a peice of mind, he also is a consultant at a few nhs hospitals. Amongst other things. I only saw a few reveiws about him but what I saw was good. When i went to see him, there was no hard sale, infact wasthe opposite. I hope you find the right surgeon. But sorry I'm not much help with regards to Thailand surgeons xxx

Yes if you google him there should be some info coming up. Registered or years in practice etc hope you get on ok xx

I'm not really a fan of getting cosmetic surgery done in another country to where I live. Of course it's only my personnel opinion. I worry if something were to go wrong there is no easy access. That may be something else to also think about maybe. For me my aftercare is as important as my BA . I'm not for one minute saying it's not important for you. Xxxxxx

Defanitly is important!! Just weighing out all my options :) so I don't regret the choice i do make! And if I do make a choice on something I need to make sure I have researched it all fully!! And im still in that researching point so im tryin to find different resources to use and different websites :) it is a very big risk to be taking though!!

Thanks for the help though! I love this forum!!!!!! 

I love this forum too. Great isn't it and all the girls on here are honest. Do you mind me asking why you are looking at Thailand instead of New Zealand ? And if you were to go to Thailand how long is the journey if something were to go wrong? Xxxx

From what Google says its a 12 hour flight, from New Zealand to puket. To get it done in new Zealand would be around $15,000 NZ dollars at the cheapest that's without accomadation and flights to wellington or something to get it done, and only $10,000 for everything including flights accomadation spending money ect to get it done in Thailand.

The thing is I would say don't compromise your health your BA and after care for the extra 5000 . I know it's a lot of money but it's your body. You really have to weigh this up. I think you already know that you would feel better about having your BA done in New Zealand but the money sways you the other way. I'm sure the other girls on here would be if the same opinion. Even if you need to wait longer to save up the extra money it is peice of mind, xxxxx

Yeah im defanitly not jumping into anything, im giving myself plent time to make sure I make the right choice. I just wish it wasn't so expencive here :( have you had any issues with your BA? Xx.

I'm merging your topics Katie because they're one of the same lovely and it would help you to have all responses on the same topic in the one place for you to read through before making your decision.

Hi, I have had no issues as yet. But it's a comfort for me to know my surgeon is not that far away. I could have gone abroad to get my BA a lot cheaper but I would be on edge all the time about complications. They may well have good after  care but it's accessing it. Hopefully so done else will be along soon to give you some more advice. Xxx

Thanks cookie :)