Doctors on both sides of the Atlantic are describing a similar pattern.
Cheap eyelid surgery abroad is sending patients home with wounds that reopen and eyes that will not close.
In the UK, the British Oculoplastic Surgery Society (BOPSS) has been collecting information from members on complications after overseas blepharoplasty procedures.
Sixty-three surgeons responded to a survey conducted with BBC News.
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The most common finding was patients returning unable to close their eyes properly.
Members also reported scarring, uneven eyes, and wounds that opened up after stitches came out.
What can go wrong with a quick eyelid job
The eyelid is a specialized area to operate on. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) lists a range of documented risks of blepharoplasty.
They include difficulty closing the eyes, dry eyes, unfavorable scarring, and rare permanent vision changes.
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Ectropion, an outward rolling of the lower lid, is also on the list. Removing too much skin is one of the ways the procedure goes wrong.
Once too much tissue is gone, the eye can be left exposed to the elements. Correcting that takes further surgery.
The risk grows when aftercare ends at the airport. Patients often fly home the same day. Some then remove their own stitches with only a video tutorial to guide them.
Any complication that develops in the following days lands with a doctor at home who did not perform the surgery.
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What the CDC found in the US
Cosmetic tourism is not only a European story. In an article published in 2026 in Emerging Infectious Diseases, CDC investigators reviewed 2,162 medical consultations from 2014 through 2024.
They identified 21 involving US residents who had traveled for cosmetic procedures.
Those consultations covered roughly 145 patients, most treated at surgery centers or clinics abroad.
Twenty of the 21 involved postsurgical infections. Four deaths were reported.
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Most cases centered on liposuction and abdominoplasty rather than eyelid surgery.
The underlying problem is the same. Infections were the most common complication.
CDC investigators flagged gaps in environmental cleaning, use of personal protective equipment, and hand hygiene at some of the facilities involved.
What to check before booking
The CDC's Yellow Book guidance for medical tourists is direct. Air travel and surgery each raise the risk of blood clots.
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Inadequate infection prevention abroad can also expose patients to bloodstream infections, hepatitis B and C, HIV, and surgical site infections.
There is also a specific timing warning for cosmetic work on the face, eyelids, or nose. ASPS recommends waiting 7 to 10 days after the procedure before flying.
Practical steps reduce the risk. Verify that the operating physician is board-certified in the specialty.
Check that the facility is accredited. Build in enough time in the destination country for post-operative checks.
Confirm in writing what happens if a complication develops after the flight home.
A clinic hundreds of miles away is rarely able to intervene. Anyone concerned about a healed or partly healed cosmetic wound should be seen by a doctor rather than waiting it out.
This article is made and published by Mie Hermansen, who may have used AI in the preparation.