Shereene IdrissBoard Certified Derm, Founder and Chief Nerd

Korea Beauty Treatments or Anywhere Abroad — What You Need To Know About Medical Tourism

12 Jul 2026 · 1 min

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In this YouTube segment, dermatologist Shereene Idriss warns viewers about the hidden dangers of seeking cosmetic treatments through medical tourism, whether abroad or out‑of‑state. She emphasizes that patients must know exactly who is performing the procedure and be able to stay at the treatment location long enough to monitor for immediate complications. Because medical tourism is built on short‑term visits, clinics often upsell multiple procedures, rush treatments, and have no incentive to ensure long‑term patient satisfaction. Idriss shares that she repeatedly sees patients in her own practice who traveled for a “deal” only to return with serious complications, underscoring her core message: you can buy shoes on sale, but you shouldn’t buy your face on sale.

Chapters

Whether you are getting a cosmetic treatment abroad or out of state, important thing is knowing who's doing the treatment, but also being able to spend time at the location where you're getting the treatment in case shit hits the fan and you have unwanted complications. Medical tourism is based off of tourism, which by definition is you visiting a foreign place for a short amount of time. So what is going to happen by default? They know you're leaving. They are going to upsell you every single procedure under the sun and try to jam-pack your time. And because they know you're leaving, where do you think their mind lies when it comes to long-term patient satisfaction? They don't give a shit because there is no long term, because chances are you're never going back. And so if you get complications, it's for you to figure out and for you to deal with in the long run. And I have seen this now time and time again in my own practice from people who have gone abroad thinking they're getting a deal and coming back with complications. But guess what? You buy your shoes on sale, you don't buy your face on sale.