My Experience with Cosmetic Surgery in Costa Rica

My name is Mary Greims and I'm a 54-year-old United States citizen living in Costa Rica. Fours years ago I had a face lift in Costa Rica which proved to be one of the wisest decisions I ever made.

I was fifty at the time and had been divorced for over six years. I really wanted to find that "special someone" and start a new life but considered it an uphill battle because I looked older than my real age had seen many plastic surgeons' ads in the local English newspaper and had comtemplated plastic surgery before but felt kind of scared. I had heard several stories of people being very dissatisfied with the results. I was also afraid people would immediately realize that I had undergone a major overhaul.

One day I ran into an acquaintance I hadn't seen for a while and she really looked fanastic. I asked her if she had gone on a special diet or was on a exercise program. Feeling quite flattered she said, "No, I had a major face lift a couple of months ago." I remarked, "Wow! You look about 10 to 15 years younger." I then asked her who had performed the surgery. She replied, "Doctor Arnoldo Fournier, a renowned plastic surgeon here in Costa Rica." I asked her for the doctor's telephone number a put it in my purse.

After relecting for a couple of weeks, I decided to make an appointment with the doctor. A few days later I arrived at his modern office and was ushered in after about a fifteen minute wait. The doctor greeted me warmly and had me sit down. He then asked me a series of questions about why I had come to see him and about what results I expected from the surgery. Then he showed me an album of "before" and "after" pictures of his former patients. I asked, "Can I really expect the same results?" He said the success of the surgery depended on a lot of factors such as age, whether a person smoked or not and their ability to follow his pre and post-operative instructions. Most people could usually expect to look about ten to fifteen years younger from a full face lift and eye surgery.

However what really sold me on the doctor was his frankness. He was happy to answer all of my questions and stressed that he could never make a fifty year old person look 20 or 30 years younger. He said his goal was to make his patients look natural and like themselves. He didn't want to radically alter the patients' appearence and leave them unhappy. I really got the feeling the doctor was like an artist who took great pride his work.

Before I left the office he explained the whole surgical procedure from A to Z. He also took a couple of pictures of me before the surgery. I said I would need some time to make a decision and would contact him when I was sure. He didn't pressure me and said to do whatever I felt comfortable with.

About ten days later I called his secretary to make another appointment. When I returned to the doctor's office he gave me a list of all the preoperative instructions, explained several payment options and talked about the overnight stay in the hospital. Most important he sent me for a series of tests to make sure I didn't have any serious health problems which might lead to complications during the surgery. We then chose a date for the operation which would be performed at the Clínica Bíblica, one of Costa Rica's best private hospital.

The day of the operation I was quite nervous and hungry. I had to follow standard proceed and fast for at least 12 hours before undergoing surgery. I checked in and was taken to the room by a nurse. About an hour later the doctor arrived, reassured me everything would be fine and did the final preparations. I had the surgery a few hours later and spent a restful night in the hospital.

My face and especially my eyes were swollen and sore for about a week and I experienced some stiffness in my neck. Gradually the swelling went down. When the doctor removed the sutures about 10 days later the stiffness went away, I felf better and was able to resume most of my normal daily activities. By the time I made the next follow-up visit I felt marvelous and was enjoying my new appearance.

A week late I went out on the town with some friends and all of them made remarks about how healthly and radiant I looked. I've yet to meet the man of my dreams but have been dating younger men on a regular basis, something I would have never been able to do before the surgery. Most men wouldn't have given me the right time of day, let alone have asked me for a date.

Finally, one quick word about cosmetic surgery in Costa Rica. I wasn't paid nor did I receive any speacial services in exchange for wrting this article. I am happy to share my experiences to help others make a decision about having cosmetic surgery. There are a couple of doctors who advertise their services as cosmetic surgeons but have no specialized training in the field. So please be careful before making your chioce.

Therefore to get the best results from your surgery I suggest you do the some or all of following: (1) Ask the U.S. Embassy for a list a certified plastic surgeons. (2) Also check with the Colegio de Médicos (the local equivalent of the A.M.A.) to see if a particular doctor is a real plastic surgeon. (3) Ask a local family doctor for a recommendation of a good plastic surgeon. (4) Talk with former patients of the doctor of your choice before you make a decision. Find out if they are pleased with the results of their surgery.