MEDICAL TOURISM - A GROWING PROBLEM

■Some patients sacrifice safety for cost savings


An Arizona woman who wanted rhinoplasty and rhytidectomy for her 60th birthday returned from a surgeon in Mexico swollen and bruised due to a damaged salivary gland. Tucson-area plastic surgeon Dr. Gwen Maxwell says medical tourism is a growing problem. "There's a huge economic incentive for people to go and seek care in other countries," she said. But patients often return dissatisfied. "Either the scars aren't placed properly, or they heal badly. There are deformities that can occur in the neck, damage to various nerves," she said. KVOA Communications (Tucson, Ariz.) (5/11)