Is it safe to travel abroad for surgery?

Yes, man, you should.

Quoting karazyal

Something else to think about if you choose another country for serious medical procedures and the surgery is a disaster.

In your home country you have your local legal system for redress. If the doctor screws up you can seek compensation through your own court systems.

Your satisfaction of the procedure will depend on the outcome and not only how much cheaper the operation was.

Up to you.

Also if your home country will fully cover treatment necessary to correct disasters. That might also include eg any top-up insurance cover.

Also, from memory normal (non-medical) travel insurance I've used has excluded travel for the purposes of medical treatment. Maybe depends on policies available from your home country but travel without insurance might be yet another increase in risk.

I've traveled overseas for surgery a few times, mostly due to the waiting lists for treatment in Australia being years long in the public system, with private being outrageous.

My experience & Thoughts:
- I always have my surgery in Thailand and pay cash. I have a hospital I like to use and they have consistent results.
- Give yourself a few days before and importantly a week or two after the surgery to ensure you have time for recovery and checkups.
- Ensure the quoted price is the final cost and includes CT scans/xrays/medication/room fees/daily dressings etc.
- In some countries you can pay a nurse to come around to do the dressings each day to avoid traveling back and forth. This can be a big deal and helps reduce the risk of infection or issues.
- I would avoid agents or paying money site unseen, you want to see the hospital, speak to the surgeon and get comparative quotes. If things do not feel right, you want to be able to bail. Read reviews of the hospital and surgeon online.
- Make sure you tell the hospital any allergies or existing medical conditions.
- If things go pear shaped, expect to be bundled up onto a plane for your home country to fix up. This is the situation you want to avoid.

Unexpected consequences.

Assuming you do get some serious surgery overseas, it would be a serious inconvenience to everyone else to have medical problems occur on the flight home. Serious enough to divert the flight to the nearest airport for emergency medical care, thereby messing with everyone's flight connections.

When I think about it, I recall tourists who got dental implants overseas but got the bad teeth removed at home from their local dentists. Then they do the expensive stuff later on overseas.