The Impact of Overseas Cosmetic Tourism on the Australian Public Hospital System

Cosmetic tourism has become increasingly popular, with patients seeking lower cost cosmetic surgery overseas. However, complications often necessitate management in local public hospitals upon their return, placing a burden on healthcare systems. This study examines the demographics, complications, interventions and resource utilisation of patients presenting to an Australian hospital with complications from overseas cosmetic surgery.

This study retrospectively reviewed patients who presented to Westmead Hospital, NSW, during two time periods-01/07/2022 to 01/01/2023 and 01/05/2024 to 30/12/2024-with complications following cosmetic surgery performed overseas. Hospital records were analysed to extract data on patient demographics, comorbidities, presenting complications, interventions, diagnostic tests and resource utilisation. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise the findings, and patterns in clinical management were evaluated.

Twenty-four patients met the inclusion criteria, with a mean age of 38.4 ± 12.5 years; 87.5% were female. Comorbidities included smoking (50%), mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, or self-harm (20.8%) and hypothyroidism (12.5%). Abdominoplasty (54.2%), breast augmentation (20.8%) and liposuction (25%) were the most frequently performed procedures. The mean Charlson Comorbidity Index was 0.2 ± 0.4, and the mean LACE Index was 5.9 ± 1.5. Complications included wound dehiscence (45.8%), infection (41.7%) and seroma (20.8%). The median time from surgery to presentation was 3.8 weeks, with a mean hospital stay of 3.3 ± 2.9 days. Interventions included oral antibiotics (83.3%), IV antibiotics (58.3%), drainage or aspiration (33.3%) and surgery (54.2%).

Overseas cosmetic surgery is associated with high complication rates and significant utilisation of public hospital resources. These findings highlight the impact of cosmetic tourism on the Australian healthcare system.