Price and registry information for patients in the US and CanadaClinicTrue is not a clinic and gives no medical adviceLanguage: EnglishEspañol
ClinicTrue
Compare prices
Compare prices Procedures Hair transplant Colombia Costa Rica Mexico How we check For clinics Contact Language: EnglishEspañol
Illustrative photo
Home › Guides › Recovering in Costa Rica

Recovering in Costa Rica

Illustrative photo

You will spend far more time recovering than in the operating room. This guide covers the practical side for patients flying in from the US or Canada.

ClinicTrue is not a clinic and gives no medical advice. The timings below come from public medical bodies and are general ranges. Your surgeon sets your dates.

How long before you fly home

Public guidance from several bodies lines up:

  • The UK NHS says not to fly for 5 to 7 days after procedures such as breast surgery and liposuction, and 7 to 10 days after facial cosmetic procedures or tummy tucks.
  • The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) suggests waiting five to seven days after body procedures such as liposuction and breast augmentation, and seven to 10 days after facial procedures including facelifts, eyelid surgery, rhinoplasty and laser treatments.
  • BAAPS, the British association of aesthetic plastic surgeons, gives the same ranges.
  • The US CDC goes further for major surgery. Its medical tourism page says to delay air travel for 10 to 14 days, particularly after surgery involving the chest.

These are minimums for flying, not full recovery. Your surgeon decides when you can leave, based on how you heal. ASPS guidance for surgeons (2024) says the surgeon should "determine, communicate, and formally agree with the patient on the length of time following the procedure that the patient should stay in the surgeon's local practice area before returning home." Get that number in writing before you buy flights, plan for the long end of the range, and buy a return you can change.

Flights and blood clots

Surgery and long flights each raise the risk of a blood clot in the leg (deep vein thrombosis) or lung (pulmonary embolism). ASPS puts it this way: "Individually, long flights or surgery can increase the potential risk of developing pulmonary embolism and blood clots. Traveling combined with surgery further increases the risk."

The CDC counts any trip over four hours as long-distance travel for clot risk and lists recent surgery within three months as a risk factor. It tells travellers to move their legs often, get up and walk when they can, and talk to a doctor beforehand about compression stockings or medication if they are at higher risk. The 2024 ASPS guidance says the surgeon should assess your clot risk and tell you how to reduce it, so ask what they want you to do on the flight home.

Where the main private hospitals are

The four private hospitals below are all in and around San José, the capital. Ask your surgeon which one they use and look at where it is before you book a hotel.

  • Hospital CIMA San José. On the Próspero Fernández highway in San Rafael de Escazú, west of the city centre.
  • Hospital Clínica Bíblica. Avenida 14, between Calle Central and Calle 1, in central San José. It also has a Santa Ana campus.
  • Hospital Metropolitano. Main hospital in central San José, 300 m south of the west side of Parque La Merced, at Calle 14 and Avenida 8. It has smaller sites across the metro area.
  • Hospital La Católica. In San Antonio de Guadalupe, Goicoechea, northeast of the centre, opposite the Tribunales de Justicia.

Stay near the hospital, not at the beach. ASPS says patients should not sunbathe, drink alcohol, swim or snorkel, do water sports, take long walking or bus tours, or exercise after surgery. Recovery is a hotel room, short walks and follow-up visits. Make the holiday a separate trip.

Before you leave: records and implant details

Get everything in writing before you fly. The CDC says: "Get copies of all your medical records from the medical facility at your destination before you return home." The Government of Canada says the same and adds X-rays and scans, "for follow-up care and if there are complications after you return home."

Ask for:

  • The operative report, naming the procedure, the technique and the anesthesia used.
  • The anesthesia record.
  • Implant details, if any: manufacturer, model or style, size, and serial or lot number. In the US the FDA requires a patient device card with this information for breast implants. Ask for the same details in Costa Rica, because your doctor at home will want them.
  • A list of medications given and prescribed.
  • Written aftercare instructions and a contact that answers once you are home.

Without the records, ASPS warns, local doctors "may not know what surgical techniques the physician used in the initial operation, making treatment difficult or nearly impossible."

Aftercare at home

Before you book, know who will see you at home. The NHS puts it plainly: "Aftercare is an important part of treatment. You need to think about where check-ups will take place." Ask the surgeon how follow-up works once you are back and what happens if you need a revision. The Government of Canada recommends reviewing your results, procedure description and medications with a health care provider when you return. The CDC adds that follow-up care for complications "can be expensive and might not be covered by your health insurance." Tell your family doctor before you travel.

Travel insurance limits

Read the policy, not the brochure. The Government of Canada: "Most travel insurance policies also won't cover planned medical procedures in another country," and your provincial or territorial plan "may not cover your expenses if you develop complications in the country where you're having the procedure." The NHS says standard travel insurance "does not normally cover if things go wrong in surgery." BAAPS says the same of holiday policies.

The CDC suggests international travel health insurance that covers medical evacuation home. Ask the insurer in writing whether complications from elective cosmetic surgery abroad are covered, and keep the answer. If the clinic offers its own complication cover, ask what it pays for, where, and for how long.

Sources

Last updated Oct 2, 2026.

ClinicTrue is not a clinic and gives no medical advice. This guide is general information, not advice about your care. Ask your surgeon and your own doctor.

Compare prices