Aussies warned over rising travel trend

It's estimated that a whopping 15,000 Australians travel abroad every year for cosmetic surgery and procedures.

Adelaide woman Blake Butler in a before and after shot showcasing her plastic surgeries.
Blake Butler is just 26 years old, but she's spent over $80,000 on plastic surgeries so far, largely in South Korea. Source: Youtube/MsBlakeButler

Doctors worry more Australians than ever are travelling overseas for cosmetic surgeries, despite repeated warnings they could end up with irreversible damage, "shame" and hefty hospital bills from sub-par treatments.

Health experts have long warned over the potential dangers of being treated in facilities that aren't quite up to Australian standards, urging people to instead consider booking an appointment on home soil where industries are properly regulated.

It's estimated some 15,000 Australians travel abroad annually seeking cosmetic treatments, but the industry is booming here on home soil, too.

In fact, from 2010 to 2018, cosmetic procedures and surgeries almost doubled from 117,000 to more than 225,000. In 2023, almost seven million Australians (38 per cent of the adult population) said they were considering cosmetic surgery in the next 10 years, according to The Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery and Medicine.

It's been estimated we spend a staggering $1 billion per year on non-invasive cosmetic procedures altogether. But high costs and long wait times for elective surgeries means many aren't hesitating to look abroad for their medical needs, and it's a trend that has been fuelled by an exploding industry on social media with patients sharing their experiences and businesses promoting their services to foreigners.

Body image issues are the most common motivator for those seeking an aesthetic rebrand, but experts warn "a purely cosmetic solution is not always going to alleviate concerns". According to one Australian surgeon, people are actually returning home in numbers seeking treatment for their botched surgeries.

"We have definitely seen in our hospital, which is close to the airport, an increase in complications from patients returning from overseas," Sydney plastic surgeon Dr Amira Sanki earlier told Yahoo News.

Adelaide woman Blake Butler receiving treatment in South Korea.
Doctors fear people are travelling overseas for surgeries in record numbers, which comes with big risks. But Butler insists she's a success story. Source: Youtube/MsBlakeButler

Those complications vary from "small issues such as scar revisions" to "life-threatening" ordeals which end up costing patients – and the Australian taxpayer – much more in ongoing medical costs.

"For example we had a lady present with a grossly infected buttock fat graft that needed her to go back to theatre many times and have significant antibiotic therapy."

Dr David Morgan from the Australian Society of Plastic surgeons said he sees up to 10 patients per year who return home needing help after receiving procedures overseas, explaining he is just of one of about 450 [plastic] surgeons in the country".

He argued that people who opt to undergo surgeries internationally are "putting themselves at significant risk" because they're "in a health system they're unfamiliar with". “There is that sense of shame and regret that they express when we talk about their experiences (overseas),” Morgan told 7News.

While the risks appear to be clear, that hasn't stopped one young Adelaide-based social media influencer and make-up artist from heading to South Korea for multiple cosmetic surgeries.

Blake Butler — a self-professed plastic surgery addict — is just 26 years old, but she said she's spent over $80,000 on cosmetic procedures in her lifetime. She argues she's had no such complications from her procedures.

The online personality recently documented her breast implant experience, the latest in a whole host of procedures she's undertaken in the Asian nation after gender transitioning at 18 years old. Butler's even been appearing in advertisements for a Korean medical tourism agency to promote her plastic surgery.

On Youtube, Butler explains what led her to this point. "A long time ago I was ugly and dumb," she said. "A lobotomy was not an option, so I had to do the next best thing.... becoming addicted to plastic surgery."

Adelaide woman Blake Butler in a before and after shot showcasing her plastic surgeries.
Butler's undertaken numerous procedures, some taking up to a year to heal. Source: Youtube/MsBlakeButler

Some of the surgeries she's so far received include angular jaw correction, genioplasty, humpectomy and tip plasty, forehead reduction, and facial laser liposuction. Some of these procedures took up to a year to recover from.

Butler said she didn't think Australia had enough options for gender transition surgery that would help her achieve the look she wanted, prompting her to travel overseas. She said Australian pricing was also another major barrier.

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