Lee Cameron says she will regret the decision to have cosmetic surgery in Thailand for the rest of her life.
The 48-year-old Melbourne woman booked a breast augmentation via a cosmetic tourism agency in August last year.
She says she was promised cheap surgery by world class doctors in luxury accommodation.
“It was about $7000 and I was quoted $27,000 here in Australia,” Ms Cameron said.
But when the bandages came off in the Thai hospital room, Ms Cameron was horrified.
“My nipples seemed to be way higher than where they should be,” she said.
“The surgeon said to me, ‘that’s ok, you’re old, they’re going to drop’.”
It wasn’t long before she developed a serious infection.
Having lost faith in the Thai doctors, she was desperate to get home to Melbourne for treatment.
“What they were doing wasn’t working and I knew I had to get home before it got to a situation where I couldn’t travel anymore,” Ms Cameron said.
Dr Olivia Perotti treated Ms Cameron when she arrived home.
The plastic and reconstructive registrar at Western Health in Melbourne has recently completed research into the perils of cheap overseas plastic surgery.
“There’s no laws to protect these people,” Dr Perotti said.
“Some of them have had nipple loss from the procedures and when they come home and they do have ongoing costs, it’s all out of pocket or the public health system’s picking up that bill.”
Ms Cameron said she’s repeatedly tried to contact the medical team in Thailand and the agency that helped make the booking but they’ve refused to take responsibility for the botched surgery.
She urged anyone considering travelling overseas for a cosmetic procedure to do their research.
“I’m not going to tell anyone not to do it,” Ms Cameron said.
“That’s not my place, but I would tell them to get the full story first.” T2 – EP
Warnings over cheap cosmetic surgery in Thailand after woman’s botched operation
