Providing information on medical expertise must be done by people with medical knowledge.
Lao Dong Newspaper has just published a series of articles reflecting the hidden corners of the "aesthetic tourism" type. In fact, many people have spent large sums of money abroad to beautify themselves with the desire to return with a new appearance, but the results are worrying complications.
MSc. Doctor CKII Nguyen Phuong Trung - Director of Phuc Tho General Hospital said that choosing foreign cosmetic surgery services in the form of tourist visas, through social media brokers, without directly verifying medical facilities, doctors and treatment procedures, poses many risks for customers.
Therefore, people in need should not choose medical facilities that they cannot verify. The risk is even greater when performing abroad because patients may not understand the laws of the host country, do not know clearly whether that facility is licensed or not, whether doctors have sufficient conditions to practice and expertise to perform services or not?
For cosmetic surgery alone, according to Dr. Nguyen Phuong Trung, most cosmetic surgery services today can be performed in Vietnam.
In the country, there are many doctors and experts from many medical facilities who are capable of performing plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery with high professional qualifications and at a much lower cost than abroad.
If there is still a need to implement it abroad, people should choose reputable establishments with long-term operations, clear information and full agreements and contracts. People also need to learn about the examination process, screening, pre-operative monitoring, handling plans when complications occur and the responsibilities of the parties," Dr. Trung recommended.
According to Dr. Nguyen Phuong Trung, consulting and providing information on medical expertise should be done by people with medical knowledge and appropriate expertise.
If people receive advice from influential people on social networks, or brokers, but do not have medical expertise, that information may be emotional, lacking professional basis. When brokerage activities are for business purposes, the economic benefit factor may be put above treatment and safety requirements for patients.
Need to separately manage cross-border aesthetic brokerage activities
Lawyer Hoang Ha (Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association) believes that brokerage activities need to be separated from advertising medical services.
According to the lawyer, from January 1, 2026, the revised Advertising Law stipulates that when advertising special products, goods, and services, it must have information certified to be allowed to circulate or be implemented in Vietnam; specifically, advertising medical examination and treatment services must meet the conditions on a practicing license or operating license.
Therefore, it is not possible to take the fact that a technique is performed abroad to implicitly advertise in Vietnam as a service that has been recognized by Vietnamese law," lawyer Hoang Ha analyzed.
The fact that a technique is not allowed to be performed in Vietnam does not mean that the technique is prohibited in another country. The legality of stem cell or cosmetic surgery must be assessed according to the laws of the country where the hospital operates.
Regarding going abroad for medical treatment, stem cell infusion or cosmetic surgery with "tourist visas", lawyer Hoang Ha said that it is necessary to base on the entry regulations of each host country.
Taking Korea as an example, according to lawyers, this country has its own C-3-3 visa for medical tourism. While the C-3-9 tourist visa only requires identification, occupation, financial capacity and purpose of the trip, the C-3-3 visa application is directly linked to the medical facility and treatment purpose.
With a C-3-3 visa, the Korean side must have an invitation letter, a license from the registered foreign patient attraction organization, documents from the inviting unit and documents proving that they have booked a medical examination and treatment appointment, including estimated costs. Patients must provide medical records, diagnosis or treatment process and prove their ability to pay costs.
If the purpose is to go for treatment but the visa applicant or broker deliberately declares another purpose to avoid the conditions for patients, then it must be considered according to the entry law of the host country and may arise issues about the truthfulness of the dossier. This is a sign that needs to be checked for the legality of this activity," the lawyer analyzed.
Also according to Lawyer Hoang Ha, if operating activities with the nature of international travel business, it must meet the conditions of the Tourism Law. This Law also considers taking advantage of tourism activities to illegally send people from Vietnam abroad as a basis for strict handling for travel businesses.
Analyzing the risks of "aesthetic tourism", Lawyer Hoang Ha analyzed that the first risk for customers lies in the entry laws of the host country. If the actual purpose is to go for treatment, but the dossier is declared purely as tourism, the entering person may be considered for the honesty of the declaration, be refused entry, have their residence status revoked or be affected in subsequent visa applications, depending on the regulations of each country.
A more concerning risk is the mechanism to protect patients when incidents occur.
For example, Korea has a C-3-3 visa specifically for medical tourism, associated with establishments or organizations that attract registered foreign patients. According to lawyers, Korean law also requires establishments registering to receive foreign patients to participate in health insurance for medical incidents and provide patients with information on diagnosis, treatment methods, side effects, contracts, estimated costs as well as dispute resolution mechanisms.
Therefore, if you follow the "tourism" path, while also avoiding the official foreign patient reception system, when complications occur, customers may have more difficulty in determining who is responsible, whether the facility is registered or not, which insurance pays and what complaint mechanism is applied," lawyer Hoang Ha said.
From the above reality, lawyer Hoang Ha believes that it is necessary to establish a separate management mechanism for cross-border medical examination and treatment and aesthetic activities.
Before receiving money or taking customers abroad, the brokerage unit must publicly disclose the hospital name, doctor, operating license, professional scope, legal status of the technique, costs, brokerage commissions, medical risks and handling mechanisms when complications occur.
At the same time, transactions need to be carried out by written contracts, which clearly define the responsibilities of each party when accidents occur and the dispute resolution mechanism.
Regarding advertising activities on social networks, according to lawyers, it is necessary to increase the verification responsibility of advertisers and platforms, instead of letting consumers search and verify themselves to see which hospital a facility is actually introduced as a "5-star hospital".
The amended Advertising Law has been in effect since January 1, 2026, so the next focus must be to trace the responsibilities of each link," lawyer Hoang Ha emphasized.
