More plastic surgery patients choose to travel for their procedures because they decide on a surgeon first instead of a locale. This is a great practice—choosing a surgeon who has experience, is informed on your chosen procedure, and matches your personal preferences is much more important than location convenience. However, adding travel on top of an invasive surgical procedure can be nerve-wracking. This blog discusses tips to make your traveling go smoothly for your plastic surgery procedure.
Why More People Are Traveling for Plastic Surgery
Planning for a plastic surgery procedure can be both an exciting and daunting process. Many people look forward to getting their desired results, especially if they have wanted to undergo a procedure for a long time. Yet before you can get to the point where you are fully recovered and can enjoy confidently showing off your results, you will need to choose a surgeon and plan ahead for your procedure. More people are choosing to travel for their procedures so they can have a personally curated experience with an esteemed surgeon who matches their preferences.
How Should I Choose a Plastic Surgeon?
Each plastic surgery experience is highly personal, and the surgeon you choose is one of the most influential factors in determining the kind of experience you will have. A lot of trust goes into plastic surgery—the patient and surgeon must have a mutual trusting relationship to ensure honesty and optimal communication throughout the entire process. Patients need to feel comfortable with their surgeon when discussing medical history, aesthetic vision, and healing to ensure a smooth procedure and recovery.
To learn about questions to ask prospective surgeons, read our blog, How to Choose the Best FFS Surgeon.
Top Traveling for Plastic Surgery Tips
Once you have chosen your surgeon, you will need to plan how you will travel to their office for the procedure and possibly for post-op check-in appointments. Below are some tips on preparing ahead of time to help make your travel go smoothly.
Plan Transportation From the Airport to the Office
It is important to plan your route from the airport to make it to your surgery on time. Once you have chosen which airport you will be flying into, you can use a navigation app to map out how long it will take to get to the plastic surgery office. This may affect your flight time, and some people may even decide to fly in the day before their appointment to feel more situated and not worry about running late, especially in busy cities with a lot of traffic.
Depending on which airport and which office location you are traveling to, you may have some of the following transportation options:
- Taxi, Uber, Lyft
- Airport shuttle
- Private car service
- Subway/train
- Bus
Book Aftercare Facility
Generally speaking, you likely will not be able to fly home the same day as your procedure. This is typically due to monitoring your vitals, swelling, and discomfort, necessitating staying near the surgical office for a few days before you can go home. Depending on the type of surgery you get, you may need to stay at an aftercare facility that provides nursing services to monitor how you are healing and help administer medication. If an aftercare facility is necessary for your procedure, booking this ahead of time is a good idea to ensure availability.
Arrange Hotel Accommodations
Whether you are flying in a day early or need to stay a few days after surgery, we recommend booking your hotel accommodations beforehand. This will help make your stay go smoother and allow you to calculate how long it will take to get from the airport to your hotel, the surgical office, and the aftercare facility.
Visit our Out of State Patients page to learn more about traveling, transportation, and other accommodation options.
Want to Know More About Traveling for Plastic Surgery?
Whether you are in the early stages of planning your plastic surgery procedure or are ready for a consultation, we want to help guide you through your journey. Dr. Harrison H. Lee has offices in Beverly Hills, CA; Manhattan, NY; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. If you live near any of these locations or if you are planning on traveling to them, you can request a consultation.
Dr. Lee offers in-person and virtual consultations for his patients’ convenience. Virtual consultations may be conducted over phone calls, FaceTime, or Zoom. To begin your plastic surgery process with Dr. Lee, complete our online contact form today.