Department of Otolaryngology, Tulane University Medical Center, 1430 Tulane Ave, #8659, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Ochsner Clinic Foundation, New Orleans, USA.
Aesthetic Plast Surg. 2020 Jun;44(3):1058-1065. doi: 10.1007/s00266-020-01638-w. Epub 2020 Feb 10.
Medical tourism for cosmetic surgery has become increasingly popular in recent years. The existing literature has identified poor outcomes associated with general cosmetic tourism; however, the complications associated with cosmetic tourism for facial rejuvenation remain poorly understood. The aims of this study are to delineate the risk profile associated with medical tourism for facial rejuvenation.
A systematic review of PubMed, MEDLINE, and Embase was performed through January 2019 using the PRISMA guidelines. Search terms included combinations of keywords including medical tourism and plastic surgery and other related nomenclature. Articles published in English relevant to medical tourism for facial rejuvenation and its associated complications were examined.
We identified six retrospective studies including 31 patients who had obtained facial rejuvenation procedures abroad and experienced treatment-associated complications. Twenty-five of 26 listed patients (96%) were female (age range 33-62 years). Departure nations included the USA, Switzerland, England, Ireland, Australia, and Thailand. Destination nations included the Dominican Republic, Cyprus, the USA, Colombia, Thailand, India, and China. Procedures included blepharoplasty, facelift, rhinoplasty, chin lift, and injections with botulinum toxin and dermal fillers. Complications included abscess, poor cosmesis, facial nerve palsy, and death.
We present the first study to systematically review the complications associated with medical tourism for facial rejuvenation. No definitive conclusions can be made given the paucity of relevant data, its clinical and statistical heterogeneity, and small sample size. Additional research is warranted to help inform patients who seek facial rejuvenation procedures abroad and to better understand the health system implications associated with cosmetic tourism for facial rejuvenation.
This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.
近年来，医学美容旅游越来越受欢迎。现有文献已确定一般美容旅游相关的不良后果；然而，与面部年轻化美容旅游相关的并发症仍知之甚少。本研究旨在描绘与面部年轻化美容旅游相关的风险概况。
通过 PRISMA 指南，对 2019 年 1 月前的 PubMed、MEDLINE 和 Embase 进行了系统的文献回顾。检索词包括包括医疗旅游和整形手术等关键词的组合以及其他相关术语。研究对象为与境外面部年轻化及相关并发症的美容旅游相关的英文文章。
我们共确定了 6 项回顾性研究，共纳入 31 名在国外接受面部年轻化治疗并出现治疗相关并发症的患者。26 例患者中有 25 例（96%）为女性（年龄 33-62 岁）。出发国包括美国、瑞士、英国、爱尔兰、澳大利亚和泰国。目的地国家包括多米尼加共和国、塞浦路斯、美国、哥伦比亚、泰国、印度和中国。治疗的项目包括双眼皮成形术、面部提升术、隆鼻术、颏部提升术和肉毒杆菌毒素及填充剂注射。并发症包括脓肿、美容效果不佳、面神经麻痹和死亡。
这是第一项系统回顾与面部年轻化美容旅游相关的并发症的研究。鉴于相关数据缺乏、临床和统计学异质性以及样本量小，无法得出明确结论。需要进一步的研究来帮助指导寻求境外面部年轻化治疗的患者，并更好地了解与面部年轻化美容旅游相关的医疗旅游对健康系统的影响。
证据等级 V：本刊要求作者为每篇文章分配一个证据等级。如需了解这些循证医学评级的详细信息，请参考目录或在线作者指南（www.springer.com/00266）。
