Medical tourism, crossing a border for a medical procedure, is extremely popular—especially for those living in border states.
But right now, a Texas woman is on life support, trying to move to a hospital here in Arizona, after a nose surgery in Mexico went terribly wrong.
Laura Avila crossed the border for plastic surgery on Oct. 30. The procedure was significantly cheaper than at home.
“The price, of course, compared to those in the U.S. was less than a third,” said Angie Avila, Laura’s sister.
But the surgery went south before it even began. An employee at the clinic administered anesthesia, and it went straight into Avila’s brain.
Meanwhile, her fiancé sitting in the waiting room was in the dark.
“I was kind of getting upset and worried because they would not let me see her or anything,” said Enrique Cruz.
After Cruz was kept in a room for eight hours, staff finally called in a doctor from a nearby hospital.
“That’s when they told us, ‘Oh, by the way, she had cardiac arrest,’” Cruz said.
Avila was moved to a Texas hospital, where doctors delivered unthinkable news.
“They said she suffered severe brain damage, so much so that she will never be our Laura again,” Angie said.
Plastic surgery gone wrong is something Phoenix Dr. Ramon Robles sees all too often.
“I get two to five patients a week that come in and talk to me about revisional surgery,” he said.
Most of the patients had their work done in Mexico.
“It all comes down to finances. At the end of the day, the patients go to Mexico because it’s less expensive,” Robles said.
Dr. Robles was certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, a process that requires rigorous training and testing. He says many doctors in Mexico don’t take that step.
“The offices are marble floors, extremely nice, but that’s where it stops. They don’t take it to the next step and say, ‘Well, where am I getting surgery? Does the doctor have the appropriate equipment?’” he said.
Robles says he sees many plastic surgery clinics in Mexico using those appearances to recruit potential patients in border states like Arizona. Oftentimes they will send representatives to Phoenix to encourage patients to get procedures.
Dr. Robles knows of a seminar one Mexican clinic held at a hotel near Sky Harbor Airport.
“It was just a big recruitment seminar to recruit patients from that seminar to book for consultations and even if they wanted to book surgeries. They were doing a one-time $1,000 off if you book the surgery today, and they would take the money and then book you then take you into Mexico to do the surgery,” he said.
Like any business, social media has made recruiting customers that much easier.
When we did a simple search of plastic surgery on Instagram, one of the top accounts that came up was a clinic in Tijuana with more than 30,000 followers.
Dozens of other plastic surgery centers in Mexico have their own accounts that display before/after pictures.
Despite the botched jobs Robles sees, he says there are some great surgeons across the border.
“Unfortunately, the ones that get a lot of patients are the ones that their training is a little bit sub-par, so they do a lot of heavy marketing to the United States,” Robles said.
Before booking, Robles recommends heavy research, not only on the clinic but on the specific surgeon performing the procedure.
“If you look at a plastic surgeon in Mexico that is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, then more than likely they have been vetted,” he said.
Checking a doctor’s certification is easy. Just go to certificationmatters.org/find-my-doctor and type in the name, state and specialty.
“It shouldn’t stop there. Then look at the Board of Medical Examiners, patient reviews,” Robles said.
Mexican investigators are now searching the clinic where Laura Avila’s life was forever changed.
Her family is hoping to move her Mayo Clinic in Phoenix. They’ve been left with the impossible decision of whether to take her off life support.
“Right now, we are praying for a miracle,” her fiancé said.
As Avila fights for her life, her family is undergoing a messy legal battle, trying to hold the Mexican clinic accountable.