What About Vietnam - S5-E19 - Facelift and Dental Surgery Vietnam - A good news story

In this episode of What About Vietnam, we uncover a hidden gem: Vietnam’s rising reputation as a hotspot for affordable, high-quality dental and cosmetic procedures. My co-host Kelley shares her transformative facelift journey with a trusted hospital in Saigon, which combines expert dental and cosmetic care in one “one-stop shop.” So to speak!

Kelley’s uplifting experience goes beyond surgery—it’s a unique way to pair self-care with a holiday! With her personal tips and stories (and a few giggles along the way), you’ll learn the do’s and don’ts of medical tourism and why Vietnam is fast becoming a top destination in this space.

With Kelley’s personal story, along with another major dental patient’s experience during the same visit, we aim to share why, in our opinion, the Worldwide Dental and Beauty Hospital in Saigon stands out for its exceptional standards of care—and why we’re excited to serve as their introduction agency.

It's a "no holds barred" episode packed with insights that will make you see Vietnam in a whole new light. Plus, join our exclusive Facelifts and Dental Vietnam Facebook Group for more real-life stories and support.

Listen now and discover why Vietnam could be the perfect place to get the procedure you’ve always wanted—at a price you can afford—while turning the whole experience into a memorable holiday!
See more info here from the hospital and listen to more real life stories.
Check out our previous dental episode here:-  https://www.whataboutvietnam.com/series-2/episode-10/vietnam-dental-holiday---save-money-on-dental-while-on-your-holiday

Go to our website page here talking dental and our enquiry page for more info – (Facelift surgery page coming soon) https://www.whataboutvietnam.com/dental-travel-services

The best way to connect with me is not via text, it is through the website www.whataboutvietnam.com website and email.

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Transcript

Kerry Newsome: Xin chào and welcome to the What About Vietnam podcast. Well, people, this is probably a travel experience or an experience in Vietnam that you probably won't see everywhere. It's certainly an experience in Vietnam that is quite unique and a little bit left to field of what I have normally featured on the program since I've been going since 2020, believe it or not. 

However, it's a story that we think needs to be told. And it's come about through us building a very close relationship with a dental and cosmetic surgery hospital based in Saigon. And this has come about for Kelley and I, well for her much longer, over 10 years, for me in the last couple of years. And we're at the point now where we think it's time to share. It's time to share with you what we know, what works, how we can bring Vietnam to the stage for cosmetic and dental surgery. Of course, Thailand and Bali and possibly even India have already earned their badges in this space, but we think 

Vietnam is definitely the newcomer to this area. And while we're not putting hand on heart to say that every hospital or every dental clinic in Vietnam has this credibility. We can say it hand on heart about Worldwide. We've had a very close relationship with the hospital from their top exec team down. And now in this episode, we get to share with you Kelley's facelift procedure. I was lucky to be part of that as her support person. And we're going to go through kind of all of the facets of that procedure. Not, you know, not the nitty gritty awful bits. of which, thankfully, there isn't too much. But, you know, just of the common questions that we do get asked, we hope that we've got those covered in this session. And please feel free to reach out to us directly. That's either to Kelley or myself, or you might like to join our new Facebook group called Facelifts and Dental Vietnam. So, I hope you enjoy the show. I know it is a little bit off the beaten path, but if you've been considering this kind of surgery, you know, something dental, something cosmetic in your own country and just thought it's just too much or possibly you wanted to be away and have that procedure with a little bit of anonymity, you know, Vietnam would definitely be the place as, even though Kelley went through this as a serious procedure, she was able to recover quite quickly and we still managed to have a great holiday experience. And, you know, there sort of in lies the marriage between What About Vietnam as a travel advisor and planner to medical tourism. So we hope you'll enjoy the show. And as I said, please feel free to ask us any questions. Anyway, let's bring Kelley onto the show and let's chat everything to do with facelift surgery in Vietnam. Here we are with Kelley McCarthy sitting in Saigon. And let me tell you, this trip has been a very different one. And you're going to hear all about it shortly. But suffice to say that it's been an experience, maybe a once in a lifetime kind of experience, but we thought it was important that while we were still here, while we were still, I guess, in the moment, we wanted to kind of share the experience with you. So please welcome Kelley to the program. Hi, Kel. Hi. Okay, so Kelley, I've got a few big questions for you, honey. So we wanted to start with the subject of facelifts and dental work in Vietnam. Now, we know we're going where angels fear to tread, as in, you know, you might be thinking of an overseas destination to have this kind of work done, but possibly your first choice would be Thailand, or even India to some degree, but not Vietnam. Vietnam really hasn't taken the stage yet for this kind of work. However, over the last 12 to 18 months, we have further developed a relationship that Kelley started in the dental area about 10 years ago. So it's not as if we're the new kids on the block here. It's not as if we've just walked the streets and, you know, walked into a front door of a place that said dental or something that looked flashed that said cosmetic surgery as we were rushing through the door with enthusiasm. We went, no, let's start with who we know, what we know, and really the birth of this started with Kelley's relationship from a dental perspective 10 years ago. But today, I really want to focus on Kelley's experience in having a facelift. There is another episode in the series where Kelley does talk about the dental aspects of her duration, I guess, or livelihood with dental and worldwide hospital. So you can get that and I'll put that in a link in the show notes. But to start off with, I thought, you know, we would start at the basics and just, you know, Kelley, can I put it to you? You know, why did you want a facelift? I think you're gorgeous just the way you are. But like, you know, everything and these kinds of decisions are very personal. So, you know, why did you want to do this? And maybe then add to that, why did you feel confident to do it in Vietnam at Worldwide?

Kelley McCarthy: So for me, I'm 53, fast approaching 54. I have a 14 year old son. And every morning when I looked in the mirror, I was seeing visions of my mother look back at me, which was never a good thought, realistically. However, I could just see ageing creeping up. I could see the neck starting to drop down. I just wanted a little bit of a refresher and I thought, what were my options for it? Probably another contributor was my 14 year old son would have fun giggling and laughing with me sitting on the couch and pulling and plucking at my little layers of skin underneath my chin. So that was that was kind of the real big push to look at opportunities for it. The reason I chose Worldwide was, like you said, I've had a relationship with them over the last 10 years, referred numerous people across for dental felt very safe and secure in knowing that they would look after me. So as compared to going into another hospital, I'd just be another number in the system. I wouldn't know the surgeons, I wouldn't know what they did. So I did a lot of pre-surgery research in discussing it. As you know, I come across here quite regularly. So I'd been to the hospital, I'd looked at options, discussed options with them, and I think Price was a really big factor as well, because in Australia, I just wouldn't have been selfish enough to spend the money that it requires to have done what I've done, because that's a large chunk on a mortgage or a new car or renovation or something to that calibre. Whereas here it was a lot more affordable.

Kerry Newsome: And I think, you know, we can't dismiss that. I think the value side of this kind of surgery and the attention to detail that comes with that, you don't have to sacrifice anything to still get what you want. you know, and we were very clear and, you know, like Kelley and I are going to talk a little bit about the process, but, you know, just because it's cheap, it doesn't mean you're going to get a less experienced doctor or, you know, have to forego or sacrifice certain things to, you know, get, you know, three quarters of what you want. In fact, there were things that were added into Kelley's surgery that she didn't ask for, but was very thing when it came along. So, you know, I think we have to accept that, you know, it is an expense. It's a cost. And, you know, when you're making these decisions, and this includes dental, we've had some wonderful experience with customers that you know, have had dental quotations for work that they want done back in Australia. And, you know, there's lots of zeros in those quotations. So, you know, they're quite saddened that they can't proceed in their own country. But when they come here and they find, you know, the doctors can give them what they want at an affordable price, you know, the relief on their face, the happiness on their face is just sheer joy and then with the final result. So let's start, Kel, when we talk about process. Let's kind of begin with the consultation and the options there for everyone.

Kelley McCarthy: Yeah, so I was lucky enough to do a face-to-face consult. That was because As you all know, I'm here quite regularly. However, that opportunity is still there to discuss via phone call. So you can do that via a WhatsApp number. You could also do they're open to arranging a Zoom face to face as well. So we can do that. We can arrange that for you or you can put it in emails what you're actually after, send some photos and then they can give you a guided quotation. What I would always suggest is maybe just allow a little bit more just in case, because like anything, when you do an actual face to face, you can see exactly where we're sitting at. with it. But like I said, nothing altered for myself. Just got a few extra little offers on the morning before surgery that I was like, yep, run with those. You're going to take fat from where and put it where? I'm all for that.

Kerry Newsome: Go for it. Yeah. And I might add, Kelley also was here a couple of days earlier and they had a wisdom tooth issue. And so before you know it, she's having tooth whipped out a couple of days before even the facelift surgery and I'm going oh what the…

Kelley McCarthy: Yeah, so I went in just for my regular dental clean and he'd sort of said, we've spoken about this before Kelley, you've got a wisdom tooth at the back there that's looking compromised, I think we should take it out. So I sort of looked at them and said, but I've got a facelift in seven days time, is that going to compromise anything? No, no, whoop, downstairs, got my face all numbed up in the chair, back out, all done and dusted in 45 minutes. And to be totally honest with you, I know if you have a wisdom tooth done in our country, You are ice packed up, you come out looking like a chipmunk with the big headband of ice packs. I was given an ice pack, taken away, some painkillers, and I'll be totally honest with you, the healing was so much quicker. I didn't have any of the effects of general anesthetic from the Wisdom Tooth, it was done all under local, and I actually had to go back the day after to actually ask them to flush out the wound because it felt so good, I chewed on that side.

Kerry Newsome: That's testament to how good it was. Yes, I don't see too much evidence of it inhibiting any enjoyment factors of your stay with your husband and your son during that period. And this is all just kind of a few days before the actual facelift operation. So I kind of arrived as a so-called support person to go through this process because I'm not going to say we came here with absolute 100%. faith that everything was going to go smashing well. We came here with, you know, a great sense of confidence because, you know, we do have a strong relationship from the, you know, the management team and the owners and founders down. So, you know, we know that they're going to be taking a very watchful, careful eye over. But like anything, and Kelley and I have talked about this in the last few days, just about that leap of faith thing, you know, with any kind of surgery, any kind of surgery, you know, anything can happen. So, you know, we kept that in mind and we're going to talk about some of the considerations. So, maybe the first consideration to talk about is support person.

Kelley McCarthy: Yeah, so Kerry put a hand up to come across as my support person. I don't know if that was for excuse language shits and giggles, but it's really important that your support person is a person who is confident and if you need anything, would be able to go out and achieve your request. So If you are bringing an anxious traveller with you, that's not really the kind of support person you need. You need someone that's going to make you feel comfortable knowing that they've got your back. So that's first tip on your support person.

Kerry Newsome: Yeah. And I think someone that knows you pretty well, you know, that is not going to do it worse. Definitely. Exactly. And, you know, you don't need any extra drama. You need someone also that can communicate with the staff at the hospital, which, you know, they're really terrific, but you will be engaged with those staff to, you know, accommodate any of that person's needs at the time. Sometimes, you know, they can be a little bit bizarre, But others are just, you know, can you go and get this? Can you get that? Blah, blah, blah. You know, I brought my bag. Can I get my phone out? Can I get my glasses to read? You know, just little, little, little things that, you know, happen along the way to make sure that, you know, the person that's having this surgery is feeling as confident and comfortable that, you know, everything is set. You know, she didn't hand over a will or gave me a safety deposit box number. But, you know, she made sure that, you know, I can contact her husband and da, da, da, and update him, which I did. So he was, you know, back in Perth, Australia while this was happening. And he was just getting the good photos. Not necessarily those early ones. Which were pretty graphic.

Kelley McCarthy: So that's probably another thing. Make sure your support person is somebody that doesn't have a weak stomach.

Kerry Newsome: Yes, not going to faint on the first look. Exactly. So maybe the second consideration is your length of stay.

Kelley McCarthy: yeah so they will tell you that stitches come out so for this is for a facelift stitches come out at 10 days and you're good to go. I've stayed 14 just to have that little buffer on the side to really feel reassured that I am safe to go on that flight. I would have been safe at 10 days, I think, but it was just good. And like today, before I'm leaving tomorrow, I'm definitely going to be going to the hospital just to make sure everything is A-OK, there's nothing I need to worry about, no more tablets, no more anti-bruising tablets, no antibiotics or anything. So it's just nice to have that reassurance of it. And the hospital will accommodate you in every step of the way and help you out. For example, for me, my hair, just not being able to wash my own hair every couple of days, the hospital would be, Kelley, pop down or we'll send the driver for you. They washed my hair, gave a little bit of a blow dry. Of course, there's no styling there, but a little bit of a blow dry. But you came back to your room and you could hair was clean, it didn't feel hot and sweaty or anything. So it's just those little extras that were really helpful.

Kerry Newsome: Yeah, and you know, speaking of the hot and sweaty bit, I think having an air-conditioned vehicle pick you up from your air-conditioned hotel taking you to, you know, a quality hospital. You know, when we talk about this hospital, we're not saying it's a five-star resort hospital that sometimes you'll see in your Instagram photos in Thailand and things like that. It is, you know, a really good quality hospital. However, don't expect it to be at that level or standard. However, in saying that, having the opportunity to go back and forth, and like we were doing it, was it every second day?

Kelley McCarthy: Yeah, I was going every second day.

Kerry Newsome: Yeah, so they were changing if there was any need changing any bandages, they were applying cream, they were kind of, you know, just doing all those little fiddly bits because… Cleaning the wound that I didn't feel comfortable with doing, so they were doing that. Yeah, and all that just ticks those boxes of confidence. You know, like we were kind of comparing some friends and stuff like that, you know, that we know have had it in Australia and stuff like that. Like you walk out the door sometimes in those situations and they'll say, okay, we'll see you in two weeks, or we'll see you in 10 days, or we'll see you when the stitches are out. So the gap between A and B in that situation, you know, you get nada, you get nothing. Where we're kind of back and forth, the head of administration that's looking after Kelley is texting her a message, checking in with her every morning, how she's feeling, Like, hello? I haven't heard of those kind of experiences back in our country.

Kelley McCarthy: No, it's just reassuring too. So there's days where I would wake up and my stitches would feel itchy and they might have felt a bit hot. That's probably because I've got a clinical mask on that's, you know, wrapped from my neck up. But I would start to have that, oh my goodness, it feels a bit warm. It's a little bit itchy. Does that mean I've got an infection? So, nope. I ring up the hospital, go in, have my wounds cleaned. And you get that, it's looking fantastic. Everything's great. So it was just that little bit of reassurance where you're not going to get that in your own country. They're going to tell you to clean your wound. They're going to tell, you know, oh, if you've got anything unsure, well, stitches behind your ears. You can't really tell if everything's OK because you can't really see around corners. So just that reassurance was a really big thing for me.

Kerry Newsome: Yeah, absolutely. And would be for me too. While we're talking about the relationship with the doctor, the surgeon and, you know, this consult bit, I want you to speak, Kelley, to just about being clear about what you want.

Kelley McCarthy: Yes. So be really assertive about what you want and make sure that they're understanding what you want. So for me, I didn't want that whole. windswept, I call it the cat in the hat look, cat lady look. I still wanted and it was something I was really, really careful about. I still wanted my lips to retain the same shape and I wanted my eyes to retain the same shape. So for me, that was a really important thing. It was about a freshen up. Yes, I probably could go tighter, but I didn't want that really, really tight, tight look. I still wanted a little bit of movement. And to be honest with you, I don't know how people really do that whole cat lady look, because it's really tight around your neck where you've had the neck lift and the liposuction done and everything like that. So for me, I've got the outcome that I really wanted. And like you said, you don't really know when you're going in, and that's with any surgery. You assume and have a vision in your own head, but you're not really 100% sure that's how it's gonna be when it come out. And this time I'm really happy.

Kerry Newsome: And do we wanna talk about sedation choices here as a little story with that?

Kelley McCarthy: Yeah, so when you come over here and you have it done, they do what's called IV sedation. So recommendation to everybody is do your research on IV sedation. It is a very twilight form of sedation. So you're just floating on the edge of a sleep and awake. And you don't really, I'll be honest with you, you can wake up slightly in it, but you don't really know what's going on. And for me, I did. I woke up in it to the two surgeons on me. I could see they were doing something, but I honestly didn't feel anything. I raised my hand and did a little bit of a And don't remember anything after that, but don't remember any pain related to that. So just keep in mind that with IV sedation It is that floating in and out of that twilight zone. You can opt though for full general anaesthetic But your recovery is going to be a lot a little bit harder on that too So for me, I actually felt really comfortable with IV sedation more so than general anaesthetic because I get incredibly ill with general anaesthetic and I still was a little bit ill with the sedation. So for me, it was a far better option because vomiting after a facelift is not really a great choice.

Kerry Newsome: No, and I think once again, it gets back to choices. It's about knowing your own body, how you have performed in other situations where you've had anaesthetic and things like that. So, you know, your medications and all the rest of it, they want to know all of that history beforehand so that they go fully informed. So, you know, Kelley was a bit in woo-woo land when she came out of it and, you know, the pain was still managed. But maybe this is a good way, Kel, to segue into, you know, just, you know, your process of recovery now. from coming back to the hotel the next day through to getting the stitches out. So we're talking that maybe start the first three days.

Kelley McCarthy: So I had the surgery, I believe it was about 10.30 on the Saturday morning. Correct. I was actually discharged by about 8.30 on the Sunday morning. And I tell you, when I got back to my hotel, just being in my own environment and my own space, was a great feeling anyway. I knew you were, you know, a text message or a phone call away. I knew I was in the hotel. I could get room service, which is a really important point and choice when you get in your hotel. Going back to something only three star, I wouldn't recommend splurge. Get at least a good four star or five star where you've got a room service menu as well, because you tend to dribble and eat and and all of the bits that go with it. And your choices, you want to know that they've got a good soup menu because soup is really all you can have for the first couple of days. By about day three or four, I think I ventured to noodles or something like that.

Kerry Newsome: Yes, I saw you sucking those noodles up.

Kelley McCarthy: My recovery for me, and everybody would be different, I actually found it really quite an easy recovery. I think by day four, I was out getting my nails done. Then I was getting pedicures. You know, I was out of it. You were thinking up places to go and shop. I was doing some shopping, which is the bonus. I'm one person in 10 million in a city. So that is a bonus. You just have that little bit where you're not going to walk down the street and see Mary or Betty or whatever.

Kerry Newsome: We've got a range of scarves in there.

Kelley McCarthy: Yeah, my headdress was, I put scarves around it, because at first I was a little bit self-conscious of the bandages, so I put scarves around it, but by, I think by about the fifth day I was just out rocking the headband.

Kerry Newsome: And like here, like nobody looks sideways at you.

Kelley McCarthy: No, it was a couple of Westerners might have looked, because I think that was out of curiosity, so Westerners would have a look.

Kerry Newsome: I think they actually wanted to sit down and go,

Kelley McCarthy: What did you have done? Yeah, yeah, but the Vietnamese, it was nobody really looked at me. No, no. So, I wasn't really getting sympathy from anyone because nobody really cared.

Kerry Newsome: I was trying to be sympathetic to you, but when you were slurping your noodles up or you were trying to find cake shops because the cakes here are just to die for and they're very soft, so she was able to kind of slip them down her tongue because you're not going to, you know, jump into a steak. Definitely not.

Kelley McCarthy: And here I am at day 13 and I think chewing a steak would still be a little bit of a task. Because you've got to remember you've got, if you've had the neck lift or the liposuction, you've got the skin pulled back right up behind your ears. And also when they pull up, they're pulling up into the back of sort of your temple area. So if you're chewing, that's all stretching and moving. for it so just keep that in mind as well really consider your foods and your soft food choices and I'll be totally honest with you everybody the probably the most frustrating thing out of all was the actual is the actual bandage so by day 10 when your stitches come off come out you actually only have to wear that at night time so you have the day times free of it but it's the It's just that pressure of the bandage. It's a bit Hannibal looking. Yeah, it sort of straps around your neck. Then it comes up over your ears and straps on the top of your head. And then you pull another one tight back behind your head. So it's just that restrictive feeling. And if you're a side sleeper, no fun at all because your stitches are behind your ears. So it's adjusting to that sort of elevated sleeping in bed against your back. If you can meditate, people, that was what I would suggest.

Kerry Newsome: Obviously, it's designed to compress and try and do its best job to minimize the swelling. And bruising. And the bruising, yes. So, you know, that's the role. I mean, the first few days you did have to wear it like all the time. But then, you know, as the days went on and the healing improved, you know, you could take it off for a few hours and that kind of has increased as time has gone on. So, you know, we're sitting here, I'm talking to you and you don't have it on. And, you know, I don't know how much you're going to wear it back when you get home. But, you know, until it finally heals, you've got a little bit of bruising still around under your neck and that. But like if you looked at Kelley when she fully is made up and you're going to see some photos with the show notes, go to the website, whataboutvietnam.com. you know, where we'll feature those photos. So you can get a full feel for, you know, beginning to end at how this looked. I just wanted to talk to you a little bit about the days then, like some people get very nervous about getting stitches out and we were a little bit nervous about that.

Kelley McCarthy: Yeah, I was a little bit anxious about it because you've got probably a lot I reckon a couple of hundred stitches. So they especially if you're having a neck lift as well, because you're not just having your face pulled, you're actually having the neck lift. So it pulls back behind your hairline. So I was a little bit anxious about that. But I'll be totally honest with you. When I went there, I laid there very calmly. You just feel the little Cut the little pop of the stitch where they go to cut it so that they can then pull it out. But because you're still Quite numb in that area and you will be for a couple of months a little bit numb in that area You really don't feel it so anyone that's quite nervous about any of this stitches coming out and Don't be. It was quite an easy process. If you say, you know, ouch or anything like that, they're like, sorry, sorry, sorry. And then they become even gentler. But I had a fabulous nurse who was gentle. She was so meticulous. I was lucky to have her and that's generally what they do too. So from the day I walked into the surgery, which was, and went and did my morning tests at 8.30, she was with me till I left 8.30 the next morning. So when my woke up or was counting down on the first few hours of surgery, when my four-hour pain meds were due and I'd push my buzzer, she was that face I saw each time. So it was nice knowing she'd been with the journey with me and knew where my pain levels were at, where I'd probably be at, whereas there wasn't any handovers with nurses every time. So that was another really nice little bonus with it too.

Kerry Newsome: And, you know, when we got in the car, when you were coming back to the hotel, you know, you had in your bag all of your medications, all your creams, etc. So, you know, Even I didn't have to go and get very much stuff at that time to add to that. We did get a little bit of extra pain relief medication just to balance it out a bit. But that was, you know, Kelley's very knowledgeable in this area. She knows her own body well enough. She knows how she can process these kind of medications. know, she's a smart cookie. So she kind of knew, no, I need this and I need that and blah, blah, blah. So we were able to do that. But as the days have gone, that's included, you know, creams and antibiotics and things like that. And I might add, it never stopped her doing, like we have, We always have a great time when we come to Vietnam, and in particular, Saigon. Saigon has got so much to do. So, when we get here, we're trying new places, we're going to markets, we're shopping. She's got the best set of fingernails. I'll put those pictures in the show notes as well, and we'll give you some links to some fantastic restaurants that we discovered, one French one in particular, which turned out to be a Michelin star. So, you know, I guess what I'm trying to impress here is that you don't have to feel like, you know, you're going to endure this and it's the holy grail of, you know, morbidity to get through this process. You, you know, you are going to be able to you know, in a pretty short amount of time, you know, experience the city, enjoy some of its spoils and take it all in to make it a kind of holiday.

Kelley McCarthy: Would you agree? Definitely. Definitely you could do. And that's one thing I would really recommend is if you're going to come and do this, add on a few extra days, speak to Kerry, get her to do a trip plan for you to see some exciting places or you know, like you might be able to take a quick trip north in a plane. Keeping in mind, you know, furthest destination being Hanoi is only a couple of hours in a flight. So if you want to go and do those beaches or you want to go off to an island or something like that, you're only, you know, an hour's flight, really, or an hour and 20 minutes flight from anything. So unless you're heading to the north. So, yeah, jump on board and even speak to Kerry about the trip planning and what else she can accommodate and make a real holiday of it, because By day three I had literally pretty much given up and at that stage I was on Panadol and Ibuprofen was the way that I was sort of medicating for it but by day three I lunchtime was the last pain meds I had. There might have been a couple of nights if I couldn't rest, I might have taken a couple of soluble Panadols just to sort of put my mind at ease and try and close my eyes and rest a little bit because, but that was more, that was not a pain, that was more about sleeping in a position I'm not used to sleeping in. So definitely can make this a holiday as well as your treatment.

Kerry Newsome: And that's kind of where the marriage comes from, I guess, with What About Vietnam and us going into this area. We've just created our own Facebook group page called Facelifts and Dental Vietnam. So we would love you to jump on the Facebook group, ask questions. Now, in this, I want to be really clear about something. We're not saying that all of Vietnam has got this down pat. We're not putting hand on heart and saying every institution or organization is out there providing these services and has all these good stories to tell. We're sharing with you our experiences and our clients' experiences and the patients that we know that have gone through the hospital, for whether it's plastic surgery, cosmetic surgery, dental surgery, etc. But probably more so as Westerners. Because, you know, you, my audience, are mostly Westerners, curious about Vietnam, coming to Vietnam to experience Vietnam. for different things. This is just another thing that we think, you know, if you wanted this kind of thing back in your own country and just couldn't see yourself being able to afford it, but would be, you know, keen to get some more information, you're now going to have access to Kelley and I to speak about this, to help you through the process, to work with the worldwide hospital team. You know, they're really standing beside us in this process to deal with this. And, you know, just, you know, sometimes it's those little nuances, you know, in interpreting things, you know, and we've had a few giggles along the way where, you know, they've looked at us with crazy eyes when we've tried to make or express something that, you know, we said we don't want the cats in our eyes or we don't want, you know, to look like deer in headlights. They don't really know what that means. So, you know, it's making sure that we're not speaking with colloquialisms and, you know, we're making it very clear about what we want so that they can understand. So, you know, I'm just saying that you have access to that. Kelley, I'm mindful of time. I'm just, you know, wanting to Maybe ask if you've got any last words of advice for people, you know, in thinking about this, doing this, do's don'ts.

Kelley McCarthy: Yeah, I think do your research. Make the choice for you and really block out everyone else's advice of why you're going overseas. Why would you do this overseas? Oh, my goodness. You only ever hear the horror stories like in anything. You only ever hear the negative. You don't very often hear the positives because people just assume things move along nicely. So my experience has been really good. And I would highly recommend it to anybody. I'm going to go home feeling fantastic. There's still, like I said, there'll be still swelling and that will go on for a little bit longer. But all in all, I know there's going to be an end in sight with that and it's going to look great. But make the choices for yourself. Don't listen to outside advice.

Kerry Newsome: We were lucky enough to be here and we kind of timed it as well, to be here with another client of ours who had some dental work. You might want to speak to that because that was a great story.

Kelley McCarthy: So I worked with an Australian lady. She'd had a lot of personal sadness. She was just all round, unfortunately, a sad lady due to her circumstances. Had 20 teeth left in her mouth that were all rotten. and falling out. The pricing in our country was so far outside of her reach, it was something she couldn't do, so she was really saddened by it all. did a lot of liaising with her and the hospital. We got her a quotation. She jumped on board and has had it done. I was lucky enough to catch up with her here in Vietnam at that stage. And then she will return in six months time to have the actual final porcelain done. But basically, She came over for 14 days and that was just for stitches and everything like that. But by about the fifth day, she walked out of that hospital after massive surgery and based full maxillofacial rebuild of her jawlines. And she walked out with temporary teeth that are giving her a smile. And I caught up with her. And that woman was a different person. She was laughing. She was joking. She had a slinky little dress on. She had her hair down. She looked a million bucks. And she, to see that transformation of firstly meeting her back in Australia. to now was what made it feel worthwhile and why I really want to recommend and share these experiences with people so there's other people out there that can have this transformation and change their lives for the better.

Kerry Newsome: Yeah and you know it was probably the combination of the experience with that lady and yourself was kind of the two ticks in the boxes that we just went no. Like this is transformational. People get to change their lives, their well-being and I was talking to another woman just the other day and she was saying in some countries you know these kind of surgeries are part of know, your health insurance, you know, to make sure that your mental health is also aligned to how you look and feel about yourself. And this woman, like, I think the staff said that she was crying tears of happiness or

Kelley McCarthy: She was crying and they were panicking that they'd done something wrong. And her daughter was her support person. And her daughter said, no, no, no, these are tears of happiness. And then they all were very happy to see that. But it was night and day, the transformation for her. Just amazing.

Kerry Newsome: And it was just great to be a part of that. And we certainly want to open the doors for you to send us your inquiries. Just go to the website whataboutvietnam.com. You can reach out to myself or Kelley. All of the information is there. So yeah, Kel, you've been a real trooper and I'm thrilled that you got what you wanted as well.

Kelley McCarthy: Yes. Thank you.

Kerry Newsome: Kelley, thank you for being on the show. Everyone, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us. Whilst there is English-speaking administration staff to handle queries at Worldwide, we are kind of sitting in the role as introduction agency to the hospital. Clients that come through What About Vietnam we feel are going to get that extra attention and we will do everything we can in our power to ensure your needs and wants and requests are heard. And obviously, if you need any help in the area of trip planning and want to add in some extra time to make a holiday of it. So, other than that, you might like to join the Facebook group, Facelifts and Dental Vietnam. We'd love to get your inquiries and fill those for you to make sure you have all the information you need to make a wise decision. All the best and thank you for listening.