The biggest practical problem after surgery abroad isn't the operation. It's week three, when the clinic is 2,000 miles away and one part of the wound looks wrong.
Stitches and simple check-ups
Check-ups with the clinic run via photos and video. At my clinic the stitches dissolve on their own, nobody has to remove them. Still speak to a practice near you before you travel, in case someone needs to look at the wound in person. Some practices refuse to follow up surgery done abroad. If so, you need another arrangement before you fly, not after.
What the NHS and HSE will do
Emergency care, always. If you turn up at A&E with an infection or a clot, you'll be treated. What they won't do is correct a poor result, revise a scar or replace a failed implant. BAAPS puts it plainly: only emergency care is guaranteed. The Royal College of Surgeons has said it shouldn't be the NHS's job to mop up mistakes made by private providers overseas, and a BMJ Open review in 2026 put the cost of doing so at up to nearly £20,000 per patient.
Complications
Consultant plastic surgeons at home will see you, privately, at your own cost, and understandably cautious about an operation they didn't perform. A first contact with a consultant before you travel helps enormously: they know who you are when you ring.
The documents without which nobody can help
- Operation report with date, technique, materials used
- Implant card with manufacturer, model, size, serial number
- Medication list and clinic instructions in English
- After breast reduction: histology report on removed tissue
- Clinic contact details with out-of-hours availability and language
Reaching the clinic
Ask beforehand who answers at night and at weekends, and in which language. “24/7” on a website often means a WhatsApp account read in the morning. That's fine, if you know it in advance.
If you book through me, I am your contact, at night and at weekends too. In an emergency, call the emergency services first.
Does my GP have to remove the stitches?
No. At my clinic the stitches dissolve on their own.
Will the NHS treat a complication?
Emergency care yes. Corrections and revisions after elective cosmetic surgery no, that's private, at your cost.
Let’s talk it through, without pressure
Twenty minutes, no obligation. We start by working out whether surgery is the right step for you at all, and whether now is the right time.
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This text does not replace a surgeon’s consent conversation. Timings are typical courses, not promises; yours may differ. Ivy Beside deliberately gives no prices and names no surgeons.