Plastic Surgery in Panama: Surgeons, Prices and Recovery

Cosmetic Surgery in Panama: An Overview

Cosmetic surgery in Panama means Panama City for almost every foreign patient. The surgeons who treat international patients keep consulting rooms in a few private hospitals and medical towers, mainly in Punta Pacífica, Paitilla and the Pacific Center complex on Calle Ramón H. Jurado. Hospital Punta Pacífica is the name that comes up most often. It is affiliated with Johns Hopkins Medicine International.^[2]

The practical advantages are straightforward. Panama uses the US dollar, so there is no exchange-rate risk on a quote.^[3] Many surgeons and staff speak English as well as Spanish, and there are direct flights from major US and Latin American cities.^[4] Most clinics offer a first consultation by video before you commit to a trip.

Panama City, Panama Is Not Panama City, Florida

Searches for "Panama City plastic surgery" mix in practices from Panama City, Florida. One of the pages that ranks for "panama aesthetics" belongs to a surgeon in Panama City, Florida, who operates at a surgical center there.^[5] Check that a clinic's address is in the Republic of Panama before you read any further.

"Panama Aesthetics": A Clinic and a Category

Panama Aesthetics is a named plastic surgery clinic based at The Panama Clinic hospital in Panama City. Its surgeon team lists breast, facial, body, reconstructive, men's and hair surgery, plus non-surgical treatments for the face, hair and skin.^[6] The phrase is also used loosely for injectables and skin treatments. Those are a different decision from surgery, with different risks and much shorter stays.

Some aesthetic practices also mention regenerative or stem cell work. One senior Panamanian plastic surgeon, for example, describes involvement in stem cell therapy and research.^[7] This is a separate field with its own regulation and evidence questions, covered in the guide to stem cell therapy in Panama. Keep it apart from your cosmetic surgery decision.

Who It Suits, and Who Should Think Twice

Surgery abroad suits people who can take two weeks away, who are non-smokers with a healthy BMI, and who are having one procedure rather than several. Agencies describe non-smokers with a healthy BMI as the best candidates.^[3] It is a poor fit if you can only manage a long weekend, if you have heart disease or poorly controlled diabetes, or if no doctor at home will see you for follow-up. For the wider picture on private hospitals, costs and insurance, see the guide to healthcare in Panama for foreigners.

Common Procedures and Plastic Surgery Prices in Panama

Breast augmentation, tummy tuck, liposuction, facelift and rhinoplasty are the procedures most often priced for foreign patients. Agency ranges for these sit roughly between $2,500 and $10,000, against $8,000 to $25,000 or more in the US.^[1][3] Treat every figure below as a guide to what you should expect a quote to look like, not as a price.

USD, from agency and third-party listings published 2025-2026, as of November 2026. These are not clinic quotes. Confirm every figure with the surgeon in writing.

Where These Numbers Come From, and Why They Disagree

Almost no Panamanian practice publishes a price list. Directory pages for Hospital Punta Pacífica and San Fernando show tummy tuck and facelift prices only "upon request".^[8] Panama Aesthetics lists abdominoplasty, liposuction and BBL among its services but shows no prices or consultation fee on its site.^[9] The ranges in the table therefore come from medical tourism agencies, which disagree with each other.

For a full tummy tuck, one agency gives $4,500-6,500, another $6,000-8,000, and a third $4,000-6,000.^[1][3][10] Facelift ranges run from $4,500-6,000 for a standard lift and $6,000-8,000 for a deep plane lift in one guide, to $7,000-10,000 in another.^[1][3] Liposuction of several areas is put at $3,000-5,000 by one agency and $4,000-7,000 by another.^[1][3] For breast augmentation, one agency gives $4,500-6,500 and another quotes full packages with Motiva implants at $4,000-5,000.^[3][1]

The closest thing to a surgeon-specific price list is a third-party listing for Dr. Joseph Setton. It gives a full facelift at $5,495, breast augmentation at $5,200-9,258, breast reconstruction at $7,600-14,895, otoplasty at $4,100-5,075 and chin augmentation at $3,800-5,744.^[11] The same listing adds $500 per extra hour of liposuction.^[11] The surgeon's own website shows his procedure menu but no prices.^[12]

Prices move with the surgeon's experience and the complexity of the case.^[3] Rhinoplasty is put at $2,500-4,500 and eyelid surgery at $2,000-3,500, with a mommy makeover at $10,000-12,000.^[1] A breast reduction is put at $4,000-6,000 on average.^[13]

What a Written Quote Should Include

A usable quote lists each item separately, so you can compare surgeons like for like:

• Surgeon's fee and the anesthesiologist's fee
• Hospital operating room time and any overnight stay
• Implants by brand and model, if used
• Pre-operative blood tests, imaging and any cardiology clearance
• Compression garments, drains and medication
• Every follow-up visit until you fly, and what a revision would cost

Consultation Fees

First consultations are published at about $60 to $150. Dr. Luis Picard-Ami's practice lists $150 for a first appointment or an online consultation by Zoom or WhatsApp.^[14] A vendor profile for Dr. Oriel Melo Mendoza gives his first consultation at USD 60.^[15] One agency says consultation fees of $100-150 are usually credited toward surgery, so ask about this before you pay.^[1]

What a Whole Trip Costs

Travel and recovery lodging add thousands to the surgical price. One agency's worked tummy tuck example comes to $9,650-11,250 in total: $6,950 in medical costs plus $2,700-4,300 for flights, lodging and other travel costs.^[1] A face lift guide puts the full trip at $7,100-12,000, including two weeks of accommodation at $2,100-3,500.^[16] The same agency suggests keeping 15% of your budget as a contingency.

Payment is usually a deposit of 30-50% by international wire, and wire fees can add 3-5%.^[1] Some practices also take cards. Dr. Setton's listing names Visa, Mastercard, cash and bank transfer.^[11] Financing is rarely set out in writing. Panama Aesthetics' contact page, for example, marks its financing options as pending.^[17]

BBL in Panama: Price, Safety Data and What to Ask

A BBL (Brazilian butt lift, or gluteal fat grafting) is offered by several Panama City practices, but none of them publishes a price. Panama Aesthetics lists BBL among its body procedures, without a fee.^[9] Dr. Setton's site lists buttock augmentation with implants, which is a different operation from fat transfer.^[12] Expect a quote only after a consultation that assesses how much fat can be taken and from where.

Prices from neighboring Colombia are often quoted alongside Panama, but they do not transfer. One Colombian broker lists BBL-only packages at $3,000-4,500 and BBL with 360 liposuction at $4,500-6,500.^[18] That broker says inquiries may be shared with up to three providers, who may pay the network for introductions.^[18] Read any package site with that model in mind.

What the Safety Studies Say

The BBL drew attention because of deaths from fat entering large veins in the buttock muscle and traveling to the lungs (pulmonary fat embolism). A 2017 survey by the ASERF task force covered 198,857 gluteal fat grafting cases and found 32 deaths from fat embolism, a career mortality rate of 1 in 6,214.^[19] Data from accredited US facilities in the same report gave an estimate of 1 in 2,351.^[19]

After surgeons changed technique, a follow-up survey found mortality trending down from 1 in 3,448 in 2017 to 1 in 14,952 in 2019.^[20] A British society review puts the current risk near 1 in 15,000, similar to the mortality risk of abdominoplasty.^[21] The improvement came from specific technique changes. Injecting into deep muscle, using cannulas smaller than 4 mm and angling the cannula downward should all be avoided.^[19]

A US multi-society advisory adds ultrasound documentation of where the cannula tip sits during injection, and a cap of three BBL cases per surgeon per day.^[22] Florida went further, limiting surgeons to three BBLs a day and requiring ultrasound guidance by emergency rule in 2022, later written into state law in 2023.^[23] These are US rules. Panama has no equivalent published in the research available, so the questions fall to you.

Questions to Put to a BBL Surgeon in Panama

1. Do you inject fat only above the muscle (subcutaneously), never into it?
2. Do you use ultrasound to confirm the cannula position during injection?
3. What cannula size do you use for injection?
4. How many BBLs do you perform in a day, and will mine be the first?
5. Is the surgery done in a hospital operating room, with an anesthesiologist present throughout?

Recovery has its own rules. A Colombian broker's protocol, for example, tells patients to avoid direct sitting pressure on the buttocks for two to three weeks.^[18] That matters for a long flight home, so ask your surgeon how you should travel.

How to Check Panama Plastic Surgeons and Clinics

Check three things before you book: the surgeon's state license (idoneidad) from the Ministry of Health, membership of the Panamanian plastic surgery association APCPER, and the hospital where the operation will take place. Agencies call APCPER membership the most important credential to verify.^[3] It is a professional association, though, not the licensing body.

The state license is controlled by the Consejo Técnico de Salud (CTS), part of the Ministerio de Salud (MINSA), which oversees who may practice medicine. MINSA points to an idoneidad portal at idoneidad.minsa.gob.pa and an official app for looking up health professionals.^[24] Since 2018, the CTS has refused specialist idoneidad to doctors who did not train in a residency approved by the CTS and the Universidad de Panamá, or an international residency it considers equivalent.^[25]

The online lookup has not always been reachable. If it fails, ask the surgeon for their idoneidad number and their specialist certificate in plastic, aesthetic and reconstructive surgery, and look for that title specifically. A Panamanian clinic's own guide advises checking both the CTS registration and the specialty.^[26]

Idoneidad (MINSA / CTS)

The state license to practice. A specialist idoneidad in plastic surgery is the basic legal requirement, separate from any association membership.

APCPER

Asociación Panameña de Cirugía Plástica, Estética y Reconstructiva. Its website has a members directory, which Panamanian clinics say can be checked publicly.^[27]

ASPS International Member

A surgeon trained and certified in their own country, with at least three years of experience and good standing with their national society. US or Canadian board certification shows as a separate badge in the ASPS search.^[28]

ABPS / RCPSC

The American Board of Plastic Surgery and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. If a surgeon claims either, ask which board and verify it with that board directly. "Board eligible" is not the same as board certified.

JCI accreditation

A hospital accreditation from Joint Commission International, awarded after an onsite survey and renewed through surveys every three years.^[29]

Surgeons Named in Directories and What Their Credentials Say

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons' finder lists several Panama City surgeons. They include Luis Moreno at Paitilla Medical Center, Roberto Tribaldos and Abraham Malca Coiffman at Hospital Punta Pacífica, José Agustín Espino at Punta Pacífica, Raúl De León, Joseph Setton, Luis Picard-Ami Jr and Luis Crespo.^[28] A listing confirms ASPS membership. It does not tell you which board certified each surgeon, so read each one's credentials separately.

• Dr. Luis A. Picard-Ami Jr. Graduated from the University of Panama medical school in 1983, trained in general and plastic surgery at McGill in Montreal, and practiced in Miami for nearly 10 years before returning to Panama City in 2000.^[14] His directory profile lists American Board of Plastic Surgery and Royal College of Canada certification, plus Panamanian registration 2892.^[30]
• Dr. Luis D. Crespo. His own bio states Panama board certification in general and plastic surgery, American Board certification in general surgery, and board eligibility in plastic surgery. He is also a past president of the Panama society of aesthetic and reconstructive plastic surgery.^[7]
• Dr. Joseph Setton. Listed by ASPS as an International Member at Hospital Pacífica Salud in Punta Pacífica.^[31] His clinic gives its address as Hospital Punta Pacífica, fourth floor, office 424, and offers a 45-minute consultation.^[12]
• Panama Aesthetics. Names Dr. Luis Caballero, Dr. Omar Lambis and Dr. Miguel Chew.^[6] It states its surgeons are APCPER-certified and members of ISAPS, FILACP and ASPS, and that it operates in The Panama Clinic's operating rooms.^[32][9] These are the clinic's own statements, so check each name yourself.

Some agency pages give a precise count of US-board-certified surgeons in Panama, with no source. Ignore totals like that and check the individual surgeon.

Red Flags

• A "surgeon" you found only on Instagram or TikTok. Panamanian clinics warn that fake titles and fake surgeons circulate on social media.^[27]
• A price given before anyone has seen your photos and medical history.
• Surgery planned in a small clinic or office suite rather than a hospital. Agencies advise confirming the operation will be at a major accredited hospital.^[3]
• Requests to pay by Western Union or cryptocurrency instead of a bank wire.^[1]
• Reluctance to name the anesthesiologist, the hospital or the implant brand.

Breast Implants: What to Ask

Both silicone gel and saline-filled implants are used in Panama.^[33] Health products in Panama need a sanitary registration (registro sanitario) granted by MINSA's Dirección Nacional de Farmacia y Drogas.^[34] Ask for the brand, model and size in writing, whether that implant is registered in Panama, and for the implant card with lot numbers before you fly home. A surgeon at home will need that card for any future check or replacement.

Panama Eye Surgery: Eyelids and Brows

Cosmetic eye-area surgery in Panama means eyelid lifts (blepharoplasty) and brow lifts. These are done by plastic surgeons and by oculofacial surgeons, who specialize in the eyelids, brows, orbit and tear ducts.^[35] An upper blepharoplasty treats excess upper-lid skin and fat. A lower blepharoplasty treats bags and loose skin under the eye.^[35] At $2,000-3,500 in agency ranges, it is one of the cheaper procedures to have done in Panama.^[1] Vision procedures such as laser correction or cataract surgery belong to ophthalmology and are covered with the hospitals in the guide to healthcare in Panama for foreigners.

Hospitals for Plastic Surgery in Panama City, Panama

Most cosmetic surgery for foreign patients happens at four private facilities. Hospital Punta Pacífica and Clínica Hospital San Fernando are the two most consistently described as JCI-accredited. San Fernando announced its sixth JCI accreditation on August 20, 2026.^[36] Published counts of JCI-accredited hospitals in Panama range from two to four, depending on the source.^[37][38][39] Check the hospital in JCI's own directory before you book.

The Panama Clinic's address is listed as Pacific Center, Torre B, on Calle Ramón H. Jurado.^[40] One directory describes it as offering more than 100 specialties and a helipad.^[41] Ask the surgeon which hospital you will be operated in, not just where the consulting room is, because the two are not always the same building.

Recovery: How Long to Stay in Panama and Where

Plan on 10 to 14 days in Panama City for most body and breast procedures, and roughly a week for smaller face and eyelid work. Agencies consistently give 10 to 14 days to recover and attend follow-up appointments before flying home.^[3] Arriving one or two days before surgery leaves room for the in-person consultation and pre-operative tests.^[16]

One surgeon's listing gives suggested stays per procedure: about 6 days for rhinoplasty, 7 for eyelid surgery and otoplasty, 10 for a tummy tuck, 12 for a full facelift and 14 for breast augmentation.^[11] Combined procedures need longer. A Colombian broker gives 14-21 days for a BBL with liposuction and a tummy tuck.^[18]

One agency's sample timeline has patients arriving on a Tuesday, operating on Thursday, and getting flight clearance around days 11 to 13, with most procedures lasting two to four hours.^[1] Panama Aesthetics says its team coordinates pre-operative tests, the surgery date and the process through recovery, with the surgeon setting the timeframe.^[17]

Recovery House, Hotel or Apartment

Recovery houses with 24-hour nursing are put at $150-250 a night, and a hotel at $100-200.^[1] Recovery houses in Panama City typically include nursing, meals and transport to follow-up visits.^[16]

Licensing of recovery houses is not well documented. Ask whether the nurses are licensed in Panama, who they call at night if something goes wrong, and how far the house is from your hospital. A hotel or rented apartment works for smaller procedures if a companion can help you. Staying in Punta Pacífica or near Pacific Center keeps you close to the hospitals. The guide to where to stay in Panama City compares these areas, and renting an apartment in Panama City covers short stays with a kitchen.

A companion with spare days can see the city while you rest. The Panama City travel guide covers the old quarter and the canal. The guide to whether Panama is safe explains which neighborhoods are comfortable for walking at night.

Entry Rules for a Two-Week Stay

A two-week recovery trip fits within Panama's tourist entry rules, but bring the right documents. Panama's embassy cites a 2021 resolution allowing US and Canadian citizens up to 180 days as tourists. The same page also gives three months as the maximum for visa-exempt nationalities.^[42] Migration requires a passport valid for at least three months, proof of at least B/.500 (US$500) in funds, and a confirmed departure booking within your permitted stay.^[43] Book a flexible return in case your surgeon wants you to stay longer.

When You Can Fly Home After Plastic Surgery

Fly only when your surgeon clears you. Published waiting periods range from about five days to six weeks. A case report cites UK aviation authority advice of 5 to 10 days without flying after abdominal surgery, and US plastic surgery society advice of 5 to 7 days after liposuction.^[44] Another cites US CDC advice to avoid travel for 10 days after abdominal surgery.^[45]

Surgeons' own guidance runs longer for bigger operations. One practice advises 7 to 14 days before short flights after a tummy tuck or liposuction, and about two weeks before long flights.^[46] Others plan 4 to 6 weeks before flying after body contouring or a mommy makeover, because of blood clot risk and reduced mobility.^[47][48] The same case report describes a patient who flew home five days after liposuction abroad and developed severe air trapped under the skin.^[44]

The reason for caution is blood clots. Air travel of 4 to 8 hours roughly doubles the incidence of venous thrombosis.^[49] Major inpatient surgery carries a much higher clot risk for the first six weeks afterward.^[49] Abdominoplasty, combined procedures, operations over four hours and liposuction over 3 liters all raise the risk.^[50] If you have one of these, ask about compression stockings, blood thinners and an aisle seat, and walk the cabin during the flight.^[47]

Risks of Cosmetic Surgery Abroad and How to Reduce Them

The risks of surgery in Panama are the risks of surgery anywhere, plus distance: complications can appear after you are home, far from the surgeon who operated. Most of what reduces risk happens before you book. That means choosing a licensed specialist, operating in an accredited hospital, keeping to a single procedure where possible, and staying long enough.

Before Surgery

• Stop smoking at least 4 to 6 weeks before surgery, and stop aspirin, anti-inflammatories and vitamin E as your surgeon directs.^[16]
• If you are over 45 or have a heart condition, expect to need cardiology clearance.^[16]
• Disclose your full medical history, including supplements and previous surgery.
• Be wary of combining several procedures in one session. Longer operating time and combined procedures raise clot risk.^[50]

Scarring and Healing

Every incision scars. Poor healing can leave facelift scars red and more visible.^[2] Tummy tuck scars run along the bikini line and around the navel, and an extended tummy tuck adds a scar around the back.^[8] Ask to see the surgeon's before-and-after photos for your procedure at least a year after surgery.

If Something Goes Wrong After You Get Home

Arrange a doctor at home before you leave, and bring back your operative report, medication list and any implant card. Complication insurance for surgery abroad is put at $500-1,500, and one agency warns that a medical evacuation can cost $50,000 or more.^[1] Read whether a policy covers complications that start after you are home, and whether it covers revision surgery.

Protecting Your Money

Pay deposits by bank wire to the clinic or hospital, not to a personal account or an intermediary, and keep the itemized quote and receipts. Agencies advise against Western Union and cryptocurrency.^[1] Get the refund and cancellation policy in writing, including what happens if the surgeon decides at the in-person consultation that you are not a candidate.

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