Woman's death in Mexico sparks concerns about medical tourism

Warnings about the risk of medical tourism have been sparked following the death of a Gold Coast woman who died while undergoing cosmetic surgery in Mexico.

Eva Sarmonikas, 29, died in a hospital while undergoing surgery in Mexicali, Baja California, during surgery. Her family said in an initial statement on Facebook that that she suffered cardiac arrest during the procedure but an autopsy found that her lung was punctured four times.

Channel 7's Sunday Night program highlighted the case. The incident drew a warning from the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgeons with spokesman Dr Anoop Rastogi saying: "In Australia, the medical profession as a whole is well regulated and so is cosmetic surgery. The problem with that is Australians are very comfortable with the safety of it and they think that's the case everywhere, and that's the problem with medical tourism."

Similarly, the Australian Dental Association warns people about the risks of having dental work done “on the cheap” overseas.