Tijuana med spas: half the US price, and the risks that come with it
CBS News Los Angeles (CBS California Investigates) · 15 October 2026 — read the original
CBS followed a group of San Diego women to a Tijuana medical spa where Botox costs about half the Los Angeles price; the clinic says about 70% of its patients come from the US. One patient interviewed had bruising and bumps after Botox at a different Tijuana spa. The report cites a 2022 CDC study of more than 93,000 US medical travellers, of whom 5% reported complications.
What it means for you: check the practitioner's licence and training, what product is used, and — the part most people skip — who will see you if something goes wrong after you are home. In our data, only 20% of Mexican clinics selling dental work or surgery describe aftercare after return on their website.
Mexico sets up a medical tourism working group and reviews its quality seal
Puerto Vallarta Daily News · 8 October 2026 — read the original
Mexico's federal tourism ministry (Sectur) approved a working group on medical tourism and moved ahead with a review of its health tourism quality seal on 7 October. Details of what will change have not been published yet.
What it means for you: a government seal is a starting point, not a guarantee. Until the new criteria are public, judge a clinic by what it puts in writing: price, what the price includes, warranty, and who pays for a redo.
Nearly 10 million American adults have gone abroad for dental care
CareQuest Institute for Oral Health · June 2026 — report · press release
CareQuest's national survey found that 3.9% of US adults — about 9.6 million people — have travelled outside the US for dental treatment, most often because it costs less (58%); 9% said they went because they had no dental insurance. Coverage included Axios and Becker's.
What it means for you: dental work is where a written warranty matters most. Among 161 implant clinics in our catalogue, 36% publish warranty terms and 21% say who pays if an implant has to be redone.
UK study: complications after surgery abroad cost the NHS up to about £19,500 per patient
BMJ Open · January 2026 (England, Bromham and colleagues) — BMJ press release · full paper (Cardiff University repository)
A rapid review of published case series found 655 UK patients treated by the NHS between 2011 and 2024 for complications of bariatric, cosmetic or eye surgery done abroad; 61% had their surgery in Turkey, and at least 53% had moderate to severe complications. Where costs were reported, NHS treatment cost £1,058 to £19,549 per patient — the authors rate this evidence as very low certainty and say the true burden is probably higher.
What it means for you: "free NHS follow-up" is not a plan. Ask the clinic what aftercare it arranges once you are home and who pays for corrective treatment.
Cosmetic tourism complications: what UK plastic surgeons are seeing
Aesthetic Surgery Journal · published online 10 March 2026 (Goodarzi, Nugent, Pacifico, Tyler, Wokes) — abstract
The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons reviewed 198 cases reported to its complications database over two years; 76% of the operations were done in Turkey, most often tummy tucks. Almost half of patients needed another operation under general anaesthetic, and the authors list inadequate aftercare as a contributing factor in about one case in five; estimated NHS cost was £5,883–£9,328 per patient.
What it means for you: plan the weeks after surgery as carefully as the operation — including when you can safely fly — and get the aftercare arrangements in writing before you pay.
Our study: what clinics say about warranties, redos and aftercare
MedTourism Research · October 2026 — read the study
We checked the websites of 684 clinics in 23 countries that publish prices for international patients. Among clinics selling dental work or surgery, 66% say nothing about a warranty, who pays for a redo, or aftercare after you fly home. The data is open under CC BY 4.0.