What should I do first if something feels wrong after surgery?

Medically: contact the operating clinic first, whatever you think of them, because they know what was done; in parallel, see a local doctor if symptoms are urgent. On paper: request your complete medical records from the clinic in writing. In Korea that is a legal right (Medical Service Act, Article 21), and records requested early are records nobody has had a reason to tidy.

Is a complication the same as negligence?

No, and the distinction decides everything afterwards. Bleeding, infection and asymmetry are known risks of surgery that can occur with flawless care; negligence is care that fell below the professional standard. Disappointment with a result is neither. A claim path exists for negligence; a revision policy is what answers a complication; nothing answers taste.

Can I actually sue a Korean clinic from another country?

A malpractice claim in Korea is possible for a foreign patient, and registered facilitators are required by law to carry liability insurance the claim can reach. The practical barriers are jurisdiction, language, evidence and presence, which is why the realistic sequence is records first, mediation second, court last. See /recourse/legal/ for the full path.

What does Lowden & Co actually do in this situation?

The things that require presence and standing: the records request, the third-party medical review, the representative who can act in Korea after you have flown home, and the written contract naming who operated. We are not an insurer and do not sell a guarantee. The commitments are contractual and they are set up before you travel, which is when setting them up is still possible.

Guides · If it goes wrong

Plan for the bad week
before you book the good one.

If surgery abroad goes wrong, the outcome depends less on the country than on what you secured before flying: written records, a named counterparty, and a reachable claim path. In Korea all three have statutory backing. Patients have a legal right to copies of their medical records, registered facilitators must carry medical-liability insurance with defined minimum cover, and a state agency has mediated malpractice disputes since 2012. The gap is that none of it is reachable by default for someone who left the country three days after surgery. This page is the sequence, in order.

The legal claim path Start anonymously

The first days

Paper first. Arguments later.

01 · Get treated

Contact the operating clinic first, whatever you now think of them: they know exactly what was done and with what. If symptoms are urgent, any competent local doctor comes before any strategic consideration. Health outranks the claim.

02 · Secure the records

Request the complete medical record in writing: operative notes, anaesthesia record, prescriptions, imaging. In Korea, Article 21 of the Medical Service Act makes copies a patient's right. Records requested in week one are the version of events nobody has had a reason to tidy.

03 · Document everything else

Dated photographs, symptom notes, every message with the clinic, receipts for remedial care. Boring, decisive. Most disputes are eventually decided by whoever kept the better file.

04 · Independent eyes

A doctor with no stake in the outcome examines you and puts findings in writing. This is the piece that converts "I am unhappy" into something a mediator or court can weigh.

The distinction that decides everything

Complication, negligence, or taste.

Every path forks on one question: which of three things happened. A complication is a known risk of surgery occurring despite proper care; it is answered by treatment and, where one was agreed, a revision policy. Negligence is care below the professional standard; it is what claims, insurance and courts exist for. Disappointment with a competently produced result is a third thing, and no legal system compensates it. Being honest with yourself about which category you are in, early, saves months. The written record from steps 02 through 04 is what lets anyone else tell the categories apart.

The claim paths themselves, in escalating order: direct settlement with the clinic, mediation through Korea's state medical-dispute agency, then a civil claim, with the facilitator's statutory liability insurance as a defined source of compensation along the way. The paths, the insurance floors, and the practical barriers of jurisdiction, language and presence are laid out at /recourse/legal/.

Before you fly

The version of this page you control.

Everything above gets an order of magnitude harder from another country, which is the honest argument for arranging it beforehand: a contract naming the operating surgeon, written payment and revision terms, a records request that does not depend on goodwill, and a representative in Korea with standing to act after you have gone home. That pre-arranged version is this site's actual product, and the checklist for judging anyone who offers you the same is at /guides/surgery-abroad-safely/.

FAQ

Asked plainly, answered plainly.

What should I do first if something feels wrong after surgery?: Medically: contact the operating clinic first, whatever you think of them, because they know what was done; in parallel, see a local doctor if symptoms are urgent. On paper: request your complete medical records from the clinic in writing. In Korea that is a legal right (Medical Service Act, Article 21), and records requested early are records nobody has had a reason to tidy.
Is a complication the same as negligence?: No, and the distinction decides everything afterwards. Bleeding, infection and asymmetry are known risks of surgery that can occur with flawless care; negligence is care that fell below the professional standard. Disappointment with a result is neither. A claim path exists for negligence; a revision policy is what answers a complication; nothing answers taste.
Can I actually sue a Korean clinic from another country?: A malpractice claim in Korea is possible for a foreign patient, and registered facilitators are required by law to carry liability insurance the claim can reach. The practical barriers are jurisdiction, language, evidence and presence, which is why the realistic sequence is records first, mediation second, court last. See /recourse/legal/ for the full path.
What does Lowden & Co actually do in this situation?: The things that require presence and standing: the records request, the third-party medical review, the representative who can act in Korea after you have flown home, and the written contract naming who operated. We are not an insurer and do not sell a guarantee. The commitments are contractual and they are set up before you travel, which is when setting them up is still possible.