There are thousand of agencies that promote themselves as “experts” in cosmetic surgery holidays that we encourage all clients to do their homework before booking your holiday.  Here is a simple list to keep in mind.

How long has the company been in business? There has been an explosion of new companies in the past few years all claiming to be experts. Due to the expense of setting up a “medical tourism” business, most of these will be out of business within a year. There are only a few original pioneers in this industry and if they have not been operating for at least 5+ years, it is questionable how long they will be around?
How do they operate? Many medical tourism companies are “agents” and offer a long list of procedures, destinations, and hospitals. While their websites are impressive, it takes years to develop good partnerships and aligning processes. Agents only offer a catalog of available procedures.
What is the management structure of the company? All reputable companies should display their management team, or employees on their website. If you are unable to find this then it is generally a group of people that act as a consortium, but is questionable as to whether they have any direct staff at all. Keep in mind that should something go round, you need to know who is accountable. No management team, hmmm..that’s questionable?
Do they have direct employees in the destination countries? Most are agents or sales people and do not have direct employees in the countries you are travelling too. What this means is that once you book, you will be handed over to another company that will pick you up and look after you. This company is paid by the agent and will only assume some responsibility while you are there. What is lost is your information gathered from the agent during the sales process.
Who has overall accountability for the safety of my journey? In most medical tourism operators there are 3 points of countact. The company who booked your holiday should take ultimate responsibility for your safety. However, keep in mind that you need to know who does what, and ask who will take overall responsibility should something go wrong. The agent – will give you advice on the surgeon, procedures etc and make the booking and scheduling. The hospital – will perform the surgery and then hand you over to the local service provider. The service provider – will look after you and put you back on the plane. So when you get back home you need to know who to call, make sure this is clear. Is it the agent who sold you the original booking, the hospital who performed the surgery, or the local service provider that looked after you while you were there?
Is there a guarantee? What if you are unhappy with the results? Does the company offer a guarantee?
Is there a deposit? You should not be required to pay a deposit for surgery only your accommodation. This is acceptable as your service provider needs to book your surgery and align this to your arrival in the destination. You should not need to pay a surgery deposit before you leave the country. This is payable direct to the hospital — only once you agree to the surgeons recommendations.
Do they have case studies, referrals, and testimonals? All reputable operators should have hundreds of case studies for you to reference. Referrals are the most important aspect of our industry and this only comes from providing excellent customer service – combined with excellent results.

This is just a few key points to keep in mind when travelling for cosmetic surgery. At GORGEOUS GETAWAYS we are proud of our reputation and excellent service standards we provide our clients. After 8+ years we consider ourselves the original pioneers of medical tourism. We are not agents, but a full-service operator. This means we provide complete end to end services to our clients. We do everything, but the surgery. We do not outsource to any other service companies, which ensures our clients have complete confidentiality, and information is shared only between GORGEOUS GETAWAYS staff, and our hospitals. Our management team and staff are listed on our blog and website so our clients know who we are and what our responsibilities are. We have direct staff in all our destinations and take full responsibility for our clients well-being by making sure they make a well-informed decision (that’s why we do not take a deposit up front), and offering our GUARANTEE.

Get Gorgeous!