Professor Deborah McNamara

So it's really hard to get accurate figures on that, David.

One of the things that we've noticed is that there's a lot of direct advertising to patients and that is framing surgery as something that is almost a trivial procedure and really underestimating the risks.

So many people travel for surgery.

Sometimes they're a bit embarrassed about travelling for surgery.

Maybe it's for some personal type of operation, some cosmetic procedures, weight reducing surgery.

And so it's really hard to get accurate figures.

We do know that the HSE does support some travel abroad and we do have accurate figures for that.

But for the things we don't.

So it seems like the most common procedures are procedures for excess weight, procedures for cosmetic procedures, plastic surgery and reconstructive surgery and dental procedures.

They seem to be the top three.

So we're seeing a range of complications.

Any operation can carry complications, but travelling abroad adds extra risk.

And so some of the sorts of complications we're most concerned about are things like clots, DVTs and pulmonary embolus.

They can be life threatening complications.

They're much more common following air travel and they're also more common after an operation.

So those additive risks are of a concern.

We're also seeing significant infections with bacteria that we don't always see here.

So most of your listeners will have heard of superbugs.

And so in some countries, there are greater numbers of superbugs.

They're more endemic in their health systems.