New plastic surgery center opens in Flushing to discourage travel to China for cheap procedures

A new plastic surgery center in Queens is doing its part to remedy a cultural divide that often drives people overseas in search of cheap and sometimes risky surgeries.

The Long Island Plastic Surgical Group recently opened an office in Flushing to reach out to the area's Chinese-American community - a population that often opts to fly across the Pacific to China in pursuit of enticing online offers for discounted nose jobs, tummy tucks and eyelid surgeries.

"One of our goals is to educate the population that the cheapest may not always be the best," said Dr. Jerry Chang, lead surgeon at the new office.

Overseas surgeries, which are often booked and paid in part online before patients meet their doctors, can lead to serious post-operative complications that often require costly followup procedures, Chang said.

To keep potential patients in the country, Chang said it's all about communication with people who are interested in both cosmetic and reconstructive surgeries.

"In terms of patient rapport, they feel more comfortable if you speak the language," he said.

Both Chang and the office's medical assistant - who greets patients, assists them in the exam rooms and calls them to follow up - speak Mandarin.

The issue of medical tourism - traveling across national borders to go under the knife - became more prevalent with the onset of the Internet, said Dr. Phil Haeck, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

"It's the No. 1 problem for plastic surgeons around the world," he said.

And China is a new hotspot for plastic surgery. The Chinese cosmetic surgery industry is a 15 billion Yuan - or $2.2billion - industry, and is growing by 20% each year, according to several Chinese news reports.

But Haeck warned that despite booming business, prospective patients should not be enticed by a bargain.

"Patients should not decide to have major surgery based on price," he said. "They will too often end up spending the difference on someone who will help them fix the problem."

Dr. Steve Lee, an almost four-year veteran of the plastic surgery scene in Flushing, said that dissuading patients from seeking cheap procedures in China has been an issue at his practice - Plastic Surgery, PLLC - for years.

Patients often ask him during consultations if they can have surgeries done for a fraction of the price, citing the prices their friends paid for similar surgeries in China.

"Once they're educated, a majority of them stay," Lee said.

He makes sure to tell patients that booking foreign procedures does not guarantee them a trained and certified surgeon.

"The quality there is 50-50," he said.

"It's a lot safer here," he added. "We can't just hang up a shingle and say we're board certified."