Despite careful preparation, complications can occur. Knowing in advance what to do if something goes wrong — and having the relevant information accessible when you need it — significantly improves the chance of a good outcome. This guide covers the immediate and medium-term steps for managing a medical emergency or significant complication in an overseas destination.
Immediate Response: First Minutes
If a life-threatening emergency occurs — cardiac arrest, respiratory arrest, major haemorrhage, sudden loss of consciousness, anaphylaxis — call the local emergency number immediately. Do not attempt to transport the patient to the clinic in a private vehicle if emergency services can respond faster.
Local emergency numbers by country: Thailand (1669 medical, 191 police); Turkey (112); Mexico (911); Hungary (112); India (112 national, 102 ambulance); South Korea (119 fire/ambulance, 112 police); Malaysia (999 or 112); Costa Rica (911); Spain (112); Poland (112).
Keep these numbers written on a physical card that is accessible without unlocking a phone. In the shock of an emergency, retrieving a number from a phone contacts list or from memory takes more time than reading from a card in a wallet.
Contacting the Treating Clinic
If the complication is related to your procedure but is not immediately life-threatening, contact the treating clinic first. They have knowledge of your procedure, your medical history, and the specific risks relevant to your situation that a local emergency service or hospital will not have. Most clinics operating in the medical tourism sector have an out-of-hours contact for their international patients specifically for this reason.
Get the clinic's out-of-hours emergency number before your procedure, not after. Ask for it during your pre-operative consultation and store it where you can find it without difficulty.
If you are taken to a different hospital before you can contact the clinic, ensure someone contacts the treating clinic as soon as possible to provide your details and obtain your medical records. The receiving hospital needs to know what procedure you had, what anaesthetic agents were used, and what medications you were prescribed.
Contacting Your Insurer
Most travel and medical tourism insurance policies require you to notify the insurer promptly when a significant medical event occurs. Failing to notify within the specified window can complicate or invalidate your claim. Have the insurer's emergency number accessible and call them as soon as the immediate clinical situation is stable.
The insurer's emergency team may be able to provide a case manager who coordinates your care — particularly important if hospital admission is required and questions arise about where you should be treated, who pays, and whether medical repatriation is appropriate.
Documentation During the Emergency
In the midst of an emergency, documentation is not the priority. But once the immediate situation is stabilised, begin recording what has happened: the date and time symptoms began, what symptoms occurred, what was observed by you or your companion, and what treatment has been provided. Ask clinical staff to provide written documentation of every treatment given and every medication administered.
This contemporaneous record will be essential for insurance claims, for providing context to your home-country doctors, and for any subsequent investigation of what went wrong.
If You Need to Stay Longer Than Planned
A complication may require you to remain in-country longer than your visa permits. In a genuine medical emergency, most countries will accommodate an extension of authorised stay with appropriate medical documentation. Contact the local immigration authority with a letter from the treating hospital confirming your clinical status and the medical necessity of remaining. Most immigration authorities have procedures for this situation — it is worth asking the clinic whether they have dealt with it before and can assist.
Your insurer may also be able to assist with the administrative aspects of a visa extension in a medical emergency context.
Consular Assistance
Your home country's consulate or embassy in the destination country can provide a range of assistance in a medical emergency. Consular staff can: provide a list of local medical facilities; contact family members on your behalf; assist with documentation if your passport is lost or damaged during hospitalisation; and provide emergency financial assistance in some circumstances (typically as a loan, not a grant).
Consular staff cannot provide medical treatment, pay medical bills, or override local legal or medical processes. They are a support resource, not a substitute for insurance coverage or clinical care.
Store your home country's consular contact details alongside your insurance emergency number before you travel.
Returning Home After a Complication
Whether and when to return home after a complication is a clinical decision that should be made in consultation with both the treating surgeon and, where possible, a doctor in your home country. Flying too soon after a complication can worsen the situation — particularly if the complication involves infection, haemorrhage, or wound dehiscence.
If your insurer is involved, they will typically require sign-off from their medical team (based on the treating surgeon's assessment) before authorising a standard return flight or arranging a medical repatriation. Do not book flights unilaterally before clinical clearance is obtained — you may arrive at the airport unable to board, or deteriorate in transit.
See our guide on DVT and long-haul flights at /guides/dvt-long-haul-flights for specific risks related to flying after surgery, which are heightened in the context of complications.
After You Return
Seek medical review from a doctor in your home country promptly after returning. Bring all documentation from the overseas treatment and the emergency episode. See our guide on post-operative follow-up at home at /guides/post-op-follow-up-at-home for advice on arranging this.
If you believe the complication was caused by clinical negligence — a departure from the standard of care that a competent surgeon would have followed — you have the right to complain to the clinic, to the relevant national regulatory body, and potentially to pursue a legal claim. The process for doing so varies by country. A solicitor specialising in international medical negligence can advise on the practicalities.