Having a Rhytidectomy (face lift) in Mexico

Having a younger-looking face is reasonably easy with the help of today's technology and medical developments. One of the most common treatments people get in order to look younger is rhytidectomies. Don't let the name scare you tho, it's just the medical term for what people typically call a face lift.

In simple words, a face lift is a medical procedure that eliminates wrinkles and sagging  from your face. A surgeon typically eliminates and folds skin tissue. He may also stretch some of the skin. The procedure is done with general anesthesia.

Since every face is different, each surgery has to be customized for each patient. However, there are three areas that are commonly treated in a face lift: the bags under the eyes, the cheeks, and the neck. With time, these three elements add to the effect of giving a face an aging look

Very often, patients who get a face lift also get blerophasty eyelid surgery, another type of cosmetic surgery. This is to avoid having to go to surgery twice and because the areas that are going to be treated are very close. This way, they can get both benefits and go through the recovery process only once. Some patients decide to have other cosmetic surgery procedures at the same time for the same reason. These procedures include liposuction, tummy tucks, and others.

If you would like to get a face lift, you need to qualify for it. Here are some factors that are considered negative for patients who want to get a face lift:

• Smoking
• Hypertension
• Diabetes
• Poor wound healing
• Poor blood circulation
• Unrealistic expectations
• Poor-self esteem
• Poor perception of reality

Note that the three last ones are psychological. A person must have a healthy mind before undergoing any cosmetic surgery procedure.

Costs

Last time I checked, a face lift in the United States cost $10,000 dollars. However, the amount might have increased since then. Moreover, a face lift is normally not covered by health insurance, so a patient has to pay the whole procedure from his or her own pocket. In addition, some extra charges may apply, since hospitals don't typically disclose the full cost until after the procedure is done. In some cases, this leads to those infamous extravagant charges, like $400 dollars for clean sheets. You can read my post about these practices here.

This is why many Americans get their face lifts in Mexico, usually saving from 30% to 50 of the cost. Some of them decide to spend the money they saved in one of Mexico's destinations, like Cancun or Los Cabos, before getting their surgery.

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Robert Ervin is a freelancer who writes about healthcare, medical tourism, and living in Mexico.

If you're considering traveling to Mexico for healthcare or retiring in Mexico, you may want to  get yourself a copy of The English's Speaker's Guide to Doctors and Hospitals in Mexico in order to find a good doctor or hospital in the main towns and cities of Mexico, or The English Speaker's Guide to Medical Care in Mexico, to understand how the Mexican healthcare system works.

Finding a Doctor or a Hospital in Mexico: A New Guide

Many Americans who live in Mexico or visit Mexico are concerned by what to do in case they need medical assistance.

This is actually a very justified concern. If something happens, whether it's an emergency or not, you need to know where to go, who to contact, what number to call, and most importantly, whether you can explain to the doctor what the problem is in English.

If you want to live in Mexico or visit Mexico, you might want to obtain a copy of The English Speaker's Guide to Doctors and Hospitals in Mexico. This guide is a directory of physicians and practicioners of medicine in Mexico that have been recommended by ex-pats and international organizations.

The information is sorted by location and specialty. So, you can find a gastroenterologist or an internist if that's what you want.

Note that Mexico is still a country of extremes. In some areas, health care is widely available and there are several doctors and hospitals. In others, there might be only one doctor and a small clinic. Still, it's a good idea to know how to contact that one doctor or clinic or to know who to contact in the closest city. This is also the reason why the level of English will vary from doctor to doctor. However, all the doctors in this guide speak some degree of English and you can expect a lot of them to speak English fluently or to have completed their studies in the United States.

The guide was compiled and written by Monica Rix Paxson, who also wrote The English Speaker's Guide to Medical Care in Mexico, which I also recommend if you want to know how the Mexican medical system works, how it differs from the American one, and what to expect.

Is Mexico Safe? What the Numbers Say

I love math. Math is the one thing that makes everything objective. And when dealing with subjects that are highly controversial, I find that math is your best friend.

It's not a secret that many Americans are afraid to come to Mexico because they don't think it's safe. While coming to Mexico is not for everyone, I think many people would benefit from having numbers that reflect the situation accurately.

I'm not going to write any comments, just take a look at the numbers and decide for yourself if Mexico is safe:

a) Number of Americans that visit Mexico everyday: 150,000

b) Homicide Rates in American Cities vs Mexican Cities (figures per 100,000)

Miami: 15.4
Philadelphia: 19.6
Chicago: 15.2
New Orleans: 49.1
Washington D.C: 21
Atlanta: 17.6
Mexico City: 9
Guadalajara: 12
Queretaro: 3

c) Homicide Rates in International Vacation Destinations

Ecuador: 19
Mexico: 14
Bahamas: 25
Guatemala: 52
Brazil: 23
Jamaica: 62
Dominican Republic: 24

d) Warnings of the US State Department:

No warnings for the following states:
Baja California Sur
Campeche
Chiapas
Estado de Mexico
Guanajuato
Hidalgo
Mexico City
Oaxaca
Puebla
Queretaro
Quintana Roo
Tabasco
Tlaxcala
Yucatan

States where touristic towns and  areas are safe but it's not recommended to leave them:
Aguascalientes
Baja California Norte
Colima
Guerrero
Jalisco
Michoacan
Morelos
Nayarit
Nuevo Leon
San Luis Potosi
Sinaloa
Sonora
Veracruz
Zacatecas

States that are considered unsafe
Chihuahua
Coahuila
Durango
Tamaulipas

Source: US Department of State

d) Violent Crime Rates

Assault:
Canada: 712
US: 757
Mexico: 144

Kidnapping:
Canada: 8.67
US: NA
Mexico: 1.3

Rape:
Canada: 73
US: 30
Mexico: 13.6

Please note that this data came from American sources and it took under reported crime into account.

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Robert Ervin is a freelancer who writes about healthcare, medical tourism, and living in Mexico.

If you're considering traveling to Mexico for healthcare or retiring in Mexico, you may want to get yourself a copy of The English's Speaker's Guide to Doctors and Hospitals in Mexico, in order to find a good doctor or hospital in the main towns and cities of Mexico, or The English Speaker's Guide to Medical Care in Mexico, to understand how the Mexican healthcare system works. 

The US Is Ranked 38th in Health Care and 33rd in Life Expectancy

Today, I read an article titled "10 Things Most Americans Don't Know About America," by Mark Manson. The two pieces of information that caught my attention were these:

1.- The US is ranked 38th in health care by the World Health Organization.

Why is it that American spend most per capita on health care, yet they rank below Colombia when it comes to health care?

Part of it is the system. Health care is based on corporations and their interests. It's no secret that a corporation's main interest is profit. When a corporation has another interest that is in conflict with profit, it will always prioritize profit. That's not so bad in other industries, but in the health care industry, profits will take priority over... well, health care.

Other two factors taken into consideration for the ranking explain why the US is ranked so low. One of them is distribution or equality. As I said in an earlier post, the US has a great health care system, and it's the number 3 destination for medical tourism in the world. However, it is unavailable for much of its population because they can't afford it.

The other factor is fair financial contribution. Compared to other industrialized countries, Americans pay much more for the benefits that they get.

2.- The US is ranked 33rd in life expectancy by the Word Health Organization.

The big culprits here are life style and food. Americans, in general, like comfort, and unfortunately that means less exercise. The lack of good public transportation also means that we walk less and drive more. For many, their days consist of sitting all day long in an office and then going home and sitting at the table to eat dinner and then sitting on a couch to watch TV.

Then there's the food many people eat, which is full of fat and oil and salt and sugar. And not only that, but some of it is loaded with chemicals like preservatives and artificial colors.

This is not a recipe for a long life. And when your body fails from lack of exercise, excess of sugar and salt, or gets poisoned by chemicals, the treatments you need may be beyond your financial reach.

The solution to the health care problem in the US doesn't rely on a magic pill, but on a change of culture and attitude, which is much harder to do.

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Robert Ervin is a freelancer who writes about healthcare, medical tourism, and living in Mexico.

If you're considering traveling to Mexico for healthcare or retiring in Mexico, you may want to get yourself a copy of The English's Speaker's Guide to Doctors and Hospitals in Mexico, in order to find a good doctor or hospital in the main towns and cities of Mexico, or The English Speaker's Guide to Medical Care in Mexico, to understand how the Mexican healthcare system works.