It was a nightmare all the way around.

What Kim McCormick thought would be a trip to get cheaper but still safe cosmetic surgery turned into what she's now calling a horrific experience.

The plan was to do a thigh lift, leg lift, a arm lift, a tummy tuck, and a breast lift. The surgeries I got was a breast implant that I didn't want, billion butt lift, which I didn't want, but I got the tummy check. That was the only thing that I wanted.

McCormick had gone to the Mexico Bariatric Center in Tijuana for a successful gastric bypass in 2018 and returned last month with her daughter Missy Anne to address excess skin after losing 150 pounds and 90 inches. The surgery she wanted would have cost more than $50,000 at home, so she paid $13,500 upfront in Mexico. But this visit, she says, was vastly different. The hospital was filthy, and her surgery rushed.

I woke up in my room, and at that time I called my daughter and I was just crying because my chest hurt. And then when I went like this, it was ginormous. And I'm like, something's dreadfully wrong here.

How did the doctors explain it?

So the first person I saw was my medical coordinator. I said, I did not ask for oh, yeah, yeah. Remember you asked for those? I said no. I did not. And she well, you'll you'll really like, no. No, I won't.

McCormick says she quickly developed infections, and doctors told her she had a partially collapsed lung. According to Miss Diane, a San Diego doctor who examined her mother a few days later found science consistent with sexual assault.

They physically mutilated my mother. They morally violated her, she says.

When she demanded help, the medical staff told Miss Deanne she had to leave. The McCormick say the medical center then charged them an additional $2,500, threatening Kim with prison time if she didn't pay. In a statement, the Mexico Bariatric Center says the hospital received express written consent to all the procedures performed. An extreme and terrifying example. But McCormick isn't alone in looking abroad. Patients Without Borders estimates 1.2 million Americans travel to Mexico for health care. 200,000 of them are going specifically for cosmetic procedures, often exponentially cheaper in Mexico. Doctors in Mexico really that much cheaper.

Than in the US.

Influencers on TikTok recently showcasing medical tourism across the globe, like beauty treatments in South Korea, plastic surgery in Turkey, and even dental work back in Mexico.

With the understanding that there are a lot of cost barriers in the US. For procedures like this. As an American doctor, would you recommend this as an alternative for patients to look into, or would you warn against it?

There are some facilities internationally that are fantastic. They have US trained or other foreign trained doctors that are as the same quality you get here in the United States. But also you have to be cautious because there are a lot out there that are just the opposite of that. They are just trying to make some money, essentially doing it on the cheap.

Even with all possible due diligence, McCormick wants anyone considering traveling for procedure to think twice.

The only way you can get this surgery done is by going out of country. Then save your money, because this could happen to please, please. No matter how enticing they make this sound and they make it sound wonderful, it is not.

Obviously, the cost savings are a big draw, but doctors recommend if you're really seriously considering going out of the country for a procedure like this, getting a recommendation from someone that you trust and can hear firsthand about their experience is highly recommended. In Mexico specifically, there is a plastic surgery director where you can look up and confirm that your doctor is qualified and experienced in the procedure that you're looking at. Now, it's not required that they register for the directory, but it's an easy indicator that they're comfortable being checked by Mexican federal government. Now, as for Kim, she is still very much recovering and seeking medical help to address and reverse those botched surgeries. And that's expected to cost her another $70,000.

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