Plastic surgeons warn of complications as Australians seek face lifts overseas

A South Korean cosmetic surgery company has cancelled a Sydney event where prospective patients were due to meet Korean doctors, after questions were raised by the ABC.

The two-day, appointment-only event was advertised by South Korean company Restory Plastic Surgery, featuring two doctors who are not registered to practise in Australia.

National laws prohibit doctors who are not registered in Australia from providing medical consultations or services in the country.

In response to questions about the event and the legalities of foreign doctors providing medical consultations in Australia, the South Korean company pulled down its advertising.

"Dr. I Yung Moon and Dr. Myung Joon Lee will not be travelling to Australia and will not be attending the Sydney event," the company told the ABC.

"We acknowledge that the presentation of the promotional material may have created the impression that the doctors themselves would be travelling to Sydney, and we would like to clarify that this is not the case."

The ABC understands similar medical expo events are held regularly, prompting warnings from Australia's peak plastic surgery body about the risks of overseas procedures and the rules governing medical advertising.

Sunshine Coast woman Pia Marshall met a different Korean cosmetic surgery company in Melbourne last year at an expo similar to the one that was due to be held in Sydney.

She said meeting patients at events like these appeared to be common practice, but after doing her own research, she decided to undergo the procedure with a different surgeon.

The marketing specialist travelled to South Korea with her mother, Marion, for matching facelifts and documented their experiences online.

The Sunshine Coast women, aged 41 and 69, travelled to Incheon, a city bordering Seoul, in June to undergo deep-plane face lifts, neck lifts and lower mid-facelifts.

The procedures, performed under general anaesthetic, typically take several hours and involve repositioning the skin and underlying tissues to restore facial contours.

The Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) confirmed wound infection and haematoma, when blood collects under the skin, are the most common face lift complications requiring operative intervention.

The mother and daughter said South Korea's reputation for skincare, known as K-beauty, and the growing number of social media testimonials made it an "obvious choice", even though the facelifts themselves were not significantly different from procedures available in Australia.

Australia is now the second-highest spending K-beauty market per capita globally, behind only South Korea, according to data from Future Market Insights.

Pia was quoted $36,000 for the procedures, including accommodation, and 14 days in South Korea. However, she negotiated a social media agreement with the company but could not disclose the details of the arrangement.

Testimonial-style advertising for cosmetic surgery is prohibited when promoting a health service provided by an Australian-registered practitioner, but the same restrictions do not apply to overseas practitioners.

A face lift in Australia typically starts at around $25,000, according the ASPS, with the cost increasing depending on the surgeon, procedure and complexity.

Pia said she found overseas cosmetic surgery options more accessible than those in Australia, due to Australia's strict advertising rules.

While Pia said she did extensive research before her surgery, other influencers documenting their experiences have taken a more casual approach to discussing the risks.

Ruby Tuesday Matthews is a 33-year-old Byron Bay content creator who specialises in lifestyle and luxury content and recently documented her own facelift.

"You go through ChatGPT and you're like, what questions do you [ask to] make sure I'm not going to die here?" she said in a recent interview with a cosmetic procedures podcast.

She also detailed difficulties accessing pain medication after surgery, due to South Korea's strict laws around prescription medication.

The influencer, who has 254,000 followers was unavailable for an interview.

Overseas complication concerns

ASPS president Dr Brigid Corrigan said the since-cancelled event raised ethical and regulatory questions, particularly because Australian surgeons were subject to strict advertising requirements under national guidelines.

Dr Corrigan said "cosmetic surgery is real surgery", and worried the Australian system could become overloaded with patients that need corrections.

"You can't be sure that an overseas surgeon has the same level of training and experience," she said.

"If you come back to Australia then who is going to look after you?"

Dr Corrigan urged anyone considering surgery overseas to seek a second medical opinion.

She believes due to Australia's strict advertising rules, local surgeons are now on the backfoot as overseas companies spruik their services online.

"It's imperative that there is a level playing field and that the same regulations that apply to Australian surgeons apply to these companies that are actively recruiting patients in Australia," she said.

"You can't have testimonials, you need to have realistic representation of before and after pictures for example, whereas these companies who are actively recruiting in Australia are not subject to the same regulations."

"We see a lot of glamourising of surgery, we see a lot of trivialising of cosmetic procedures and a lot of use of testimonials."

An Australia Health Regulatory Authority (AHPRA) spokesperson said in a statement "AHPRA regulates Australian-registered health practitioners and the advertising of health services provided in Australia. AHPRA does not regulate practitioners or services outside of Australia.

"AHPRA sets high standards for Australian-registered practitioners, who are bound by a code of conduct and must comply with strict rules around advertising, informed consent, and managing any conflicts of interest."

But Pia Marshall said it was just simply easier to go overseas.

"Being like hidden or not being able to show your work or promote your business, I think it's detrimental really, to the surgeons themselves but also the women because you don't know, you can't make an educated decision."