RIYADH — Several Saudi cosmetic consultants have warned citizens against carrying out plastic surgery in many foreign countries, especially in Turkey. The warning comes in the wake of a surge in the number of Saudi nationals who have been victims of medical errors. The consultants drew attention to the inability to pursue the matter legally due to the weakness of the judiciary in those countries, affected by political unrest, in delivering justice to the victims and protecting the rights of citizens. Medical experts issued the warning at the Fourth Cosmetics Medicine Forum, hosted by the Riyadh International Exhibition and Conference Center from Feb. 18 to 20. Several prominent doctors, including cosmetic and plastic surgeons from various parts of the Kingdom, attended the event. The forum discussed the dangers of plastic surgery abroad within an awareness seminar entitled “Plastic surgery abroad under the microscope”, in which plastic surgery consultant Dr. Loay Al-Salimi, gynecology consultant Dr. Najla Al-Marri, and legal advisor Prof. Shurooq Al-Otaibi participated. Prof. Samar Al-Muqrin was the moderator. In his speech, Dr. Loay Al-Salimi highlighted medical case of a Saudi woman that he had attended. The woman underwent plastic surgery for removing part of her intestine in Turkey. “However, the condition of the woman worsened and the case was subsequently reported to the Ministry of Health. The woman was taken to the intensive care unit of a hospital directly from the airport after her arrival from Turkey,” he said adding that it would take a few years for such victims to repair the damage caused and return to their normal condition. Al-Salimi also drew attention to some cases where the victims were met with threats when they tried to file complaints against hospitals in Turkey. He said that Turkey is one of the worst destinations for undertaking plastic surgery at present. The symposium started with a discussion about the obsession among some Saudis of undergoing cosmetic procedures outside the Kingdom. This is a trend existing in the Gulf society in general, according to Dr. Najlaa. “This obsession has been exacerbated by the spreading of social networking sites with paid promotion campaigns, luring young women to become beautiful similar to international celebrities. Many Saudis prefer to go abroad for cosmetic surgery mainly because of the comparatively cheaper cost, and their search for medical tourism, which made them victims of advertising campaigns such as those promoted by Turkey,” she said. Dr. Najlaa said she was attending at least three Saudi cases of medical errors pertaining to cosmetic surgery carried out in Turkey every month. On his part, Shurooq Al-Otaibi said that the Saudi law will not protect the aggrieved person if he is subjected to complications from hospitals abroad, because the law applies to cases that occur in the Kingdom only.