Guides · Safety

The risk is real.
So is the checklist that manages it.

Surgery abroad carries the same categories of risk as surgery at home (anaesthesia, infection, bleeding, a result that does not match expectation), plus two risks specific to travel: harder aftercare access if a complication appears after you fly home, and no established way to pursue a claim if something goes wrong. The second risk is what a verified, named surgeon and a written claim path exist to close; the first is a risk of the surgery itself, not of doing it abroad.

Before you book

Four questions. Ask them of anyone.

Is the operating surgeon named in writing?

A named surgeon in a signed contract is the only thing that makes substitution ("ghost surgery") a breach with remedies rather than a complaint. See /verification/.

Are the payment terms in writing before you pay?

A written quote and written deposit terms (amount, what it buys, refund conditions) are what turn a dispute into a contract matter instead of an argument. See /pricing/.

Is there a written claim path if something goes wrong?

Korean law requires malpractice cover; reaching it as a foreign patient is a separate, solvable problem. See /recourse/legal/.

Are licence and case volume checked, or only claimed?

A number on a website is a claim. A licence checked against the medical register, recorded in your contract, is not. See /verification/.

Related

What a scam clinic looks like from outside.

The same four questions above, inverted, are the fastest way to spot a clinic worth avoiding. See the red-flags guide.

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