Safety and quality

Check three things: the centre's current health licence, the registration of the doctor who will actually operate (name and number, not just 'our team') and external accreditation such as JCI or ISO. Add recent reviews from several platforms, not only their own site.

Joint Commission International is a voluntary patient-safety audit recognised worldwide. It is not compulsory and there are excellent hospitals without it, but holding it means processes have been reviewed by an outside body. Verify it on JCI's own site, not the clinic's.

Yes, and you should insist. Ask for the surgeon's full name, specialty and registration number, and confirm that this person will perform the procedure. In some high-volume centres the operating team is not the one that answered your messages.

Pressure to decide today, refusal to name the surgeon, no written informed consent, guaranteed-result promises, unlabelled before-and-after photos, and contracts only in a language you cannot read.

Partly. Look for detailed reviews spread over time across Google, forums and social media, and be suspicious of bursts of five-star ratings written in the same week. A well-argued negative review usually tells you more than a generic positive one.

The usual surgical risks plus three extra ones: follow-up is harder if something goes wrong, flying too soon raises the risk of clots, and bacterial resistance patterns differ by country. You reduce them by choosing an accredited centre, respecting the wait before flying, and arranging follow-up with a doctor at home.

An initial video assessment is normal, but before theatre there must be an in-person consultation, examination and pre-op tests, even if only the day before. If a clinic offers to operate on arrival day without seeing you first, look elsewhere.