It turns out that Jalisco, Mexico, is a hot destination for plastic surgery and non-surgical anti-aging procedures. Wealthy locals and foreign tourists flock to ubiquitous “medical spas” offering these treatments. But there can be problems beyond the wrinkles on your face.
In this article, I’ll cover why so many foreigners are coming to Mexico for cosmetic procedures, the dark side of this lucrative business, and how to perform due diligence before choosing a Mexican clinic to minimize your risk of having a bad experience.
The Medical Spa Business is Booming in Mexico
Honestly, I didn’t realize plastic surgery was such a big thing in Guadalajara before moving here, but it’s hard to miss when visiting certain parts of the city.
In Andares, a neighborhood known as a luxurious playground for the super-rich, you see scores of women walking around with perfectly sculpted bodies and silky-smooth skin that’s all but impossible for their age group. This (probably) didn’t happen naturally.
In 2023, the Mexican medical spa business had an estimated value of $177 million USD according to Grand View Research, with expectations for 10%-15% annual growth in the coming years.
While plenty big in its own right, Mexico’s medi spa business is connected to a wider trend (also growing) in overseas medical tourism, a phenomenon drawing anywhere from 1.4 to 3 million visitors to Mexico annually, with roughly half of them U.S. citizens, according to Global Health Intelligence.
Dental care accounts for 60% of all medical tourism visits to Mexico, but cosmetic procedures are also a sizable draw, accounting for 15% of the total, according to Patients Beyond Borders.
U.S. medical tourists head to Mexico for various reasons, with lower costs, better attention, and shorter wait times being the biggest drivers. Cosmetic surgery costs, in particular, are a real bargain, averaging 75% less than comparable treatments in the U.S.
While there’s nothing wrong with looking to save money, some visitors fail to fully consider the risks before coming. Below, I’ll share some recent examples of how things can go sideways — and how to increase your chances of being treated safely and effectively if you come to Mexico for treatment.
Mexican Medi Spa Regulation & Risks
There is board certification of plastic surgeons in Mexico and a regulatory body that oversees medical products and devices they use (COFEPRIS). In addition, Mexico’s Ministry of Health (Secretaría de Salud) regulates health service providers, including medi spas.
Despite this regulation, oversight isn’t perfect, and unlicensed practitioners offering low-cost services often operate under the government’s radar. Typically, these “amateur” clinics get discovered and inspected after someone reports a serious problem to COFEPRIS, not before.
Earlier this month, the news daily El Mural in Guadalajara reported that 1-2 beauty clinics in Jalisco (some operating out of owners’ homes) are being shut down every month for failing to hold the required health licenses or for failing to employ medically trained staff.
While many foreigners have had successful plastic surgery in Mexico (I know a few personally), poor outcomes span the gamut — and include patient deaths. So far this year, three women have died after undergoing cosmetic procedures in Jalisco, with one sensational case in Puerto Vallarta last month.
The Strange and Tragic Case of Jessica Rossman
If you were thinking that medi spa risks in Mexico are limited to unsophisticated visitors seeking out bargain-priced anti-aging treatments, think again.
Jessica Rossman was a former United Airlines executive, prominent Houston socialite, and part-time expat who died under mysterious circumstances recently following a cosmetic procedure in Puerto Vallarta.
Here’s what happened …
Ms. Rossman was visiting Puerto Vallarta about six weeks ago and went for an unspecified treatment at the Dr. Carlos Diaz Health & Beauty clinic. According to the clinic’s website, they offer anti-aging treatments, including Botox, dermal fillers, micro-needling, stem cell therapy, and ozone therapy.
It’s not a cheap clinic, and it’s not an “underground” operation like the places described above.
But Rossman never returned home from her appointment, which prompted her boyfriend (the ex-CEO of Continental Airlines, Gordon Bethune) to report her missing. Within a few days, Mexican authorities had located Rossman’s body at a local morgue.
Her official death certificate listed the cause as “pulmonary edema and arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy,” which in plain English is heart failure and suffocation. A strange outcome for a wealthy, 56-year-old whose family claims she was in good health with no history of heart disease.
Rossman’s case got even weirder when her boyfriend (Bethune) had her body cremated in Mexico, preventing an independent autopsy from being done in Houston, TX (where Rossman’s family lives) to confirm the cause of death.
The woman’s brother, Lucho Rossman, who is a medical doctor, had agreed initially with Bethune’s decision to cremate her body. Then, sometime later, he changed his mind, suspecting foul play.
Bethune is an 83-year-old retiree reportedly suffering from Parkinson’s disease. He doesn’t exactly fit the profile of a conspiratorial paramour with a sinister plot to eliminate his aging trophy wife. But I won’t lie… it does seem like something’s being covered up by someone.
While this is an odd and uncommon case, it begs the question… What can medical tourists do to protect themselves before visiting a medi spa (or any surgical facility) in Mexico?
A Safety Checklist to Minimize Plastic Surgery Risk in Mexico
Because there’s no public resource to check the safety records of medi spas in Mexico, you’ll need to roll up your sleeves and do your due diligence before choosing one.
The best clinics have board-certified doctors with decades of experience. They’ll use FDA-certified products, share FAQs on their website, and provide prompt, professional, and thorough responses to any questions you send them. But that’s not all.
Here’s a checklist to use when screening Mexican medical spas:
- Verify the clinic has a medical license.
- Check if the doctor(s) are certified by the Mexican Board of Plastic Surgery or another relevant certifying body.
- If someone without a medical degree will treat you, confirm they’re licensed and trained to do so.
- Ask how many procedures the clinic has done for your chosen treatment.
- Ask what type of equipment is used and how it’s sterilized.
- Confirm the clinic uses FDA and/or European Commission-approved products.
- Check patient reviews somewhere other than the provider’s website (theirs will be sanitized of anything controversial).
- Ask if the procedure will require anesthesia, and if so, confirm that a doctor administers it.
- Inquire about the plan for pre- and post-procedure care.
- Ask which hospital is used if a patient has a medical emergency during the procedure and needs prompt medical attention.
- If you don’t speak Spanish, ask if English-speaking staff will be present.
- Choose a medi spa location where the crime rate is low. (You want to consider the risks outside the medi spa, not just inside.)
- Walk away if you feel pressured to commit or if any risks are downplayed.
- If you don’t live in Mexico, consider buying travel insurance covering medical evacuation back to your home country.
When I read online reviews of Dr. Carlos Diaz Health & Beauty clinic (where Rossman died), most former patients rated it highly. However, the clinic’s website didn’t mention Dr. Diaz’s medical degree, years of experience, board certifications, or the facility’s license. Those would have been huge red flags for me.
Incidentally, when I emailed the clinic to ask about Dr. Diaz’s qualifications, they responded quickly to say he’s a board-certified doctor who specializes in aesthetic medicine (again with no mention of where he studied or who certified him).
Where to Report a Bad Medi Spa Experience
The Comisión Federal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios (COFEPRIS), which regulates the safety of medical products and devices, also tracks patient complaints about health service providers in Mexico.
To submit a complaint about a media spa, visit this page.
For readers accustomed to having a legal system and attorney go to bat for you when you suffer medical malpractice, just forget about that in Mexico. The legal system here has always been arduous and inefficient. And now it’s undergoing massive upheaval as President Sheinbaum’s government requires tenured judges to stand for election in 2025 to keep their jobs.
If something goes wrong at a Mexican medi spa, the legal system provides no safety net.
Conclusion
This article isn’t intended to scare anyone away from seeking treatments here. You can safely get cosmetic procedures in Mexico at substantially lower cost than in the U.S., but there are no guarantees.
If you decide to come, use the checklist above to vet your clinic. If it were me, I’d seek out a top-rated, top-tier provider in a major city like Guadalajara or Mexico City for your procedure. It will still cost way less than what you’d pay north of the border.
Plus, the standard of care at private clinics in these major cities is high, with state-of-the-art hospitals nearby if something goes wrong. (unlike many beach towns)
Sources: Milennio, el Mural, NBC News, View from the wing, CDC, Global Health Intelligence.
Tags: plastic surgery, medi spas, MedSpas, cosmetic surgery clinics, aesthetic clinics