Checking out the surgeon/dentist

Putting your health in the hands of a medical practitioner in another country may seem like a daunting prospect, but every country will have its own standards and safeguards. You should check the qualifications and credentials of any doctor or dentist before you book with them.

This means doing your research. Firstly you should seek out the licensing, accreditations and professional associations that exist in your chosen country. For example, in the UK, we have the General Medical Council (GMC), the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS) the General Dental Council (GDC) and the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (BACD). You can find out the equivalent bodies in your chosen country by consulting the country specific pages on this site.

Your chosen doctor or dentist should be happy to show you their credentials, and you should be able to independently verify these with the national body. If they are unwilling to prove their qualifications, licences or memberships, you should move on to another practitioner who will.

Look for professional memberships

Often, surgeons and dentists working abroad will have trained and qualified in the UK, and will be listed as members of the appropriate UK associations, such as the GMC or BAPRAS. Others may hold international memberships, such as the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) or the European Association of Plastic Surgeons (EURAPS). Cosmetic surgeons trained in the USA may be members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

While qualifications, registrations and association memberships do not guarantee the skill of your surgeon or the quality of their work, they do confirm a commitment to national and international standards and practices.

You may only need to check out the qualifications and credentials of the main surgeon or consultant: high quality professionals will usually only work with good anaesthetists and staff in clean, safe, well-equipped clinics.