Cosmetic Surgery in Colombia: Safety Checks

Before cosmetic surgery in Colombia, check the surgeon's authorization in ReTHUS and confirm any claimed specialty with the registration body. Check the treatment site and its surgical service in REPS (MinSalud; habilitation rules).

This is not medical advice. Talk to a licensed doctor about your health.

Who it applies to

This guide covers checks for adults who travel for planned surgery. The section on minors explains legal exceptions, not eligibility for a procedure. The medical tourism guide covers the trip. The clinic and professional guide covers the shared registry checks.

Steps

1. Ask for the full name and ID details of the surgeon and the other treating professionals.
2. Follow the numbered ReTHUS search steps for each professional.
3. Compare the identity and authorization information returned with the professional's documents.
4. Check the specialty's exact title. The education ministry list includes plastic, aesthetic and reconstructive surgery (cirugía plástica, estética y reconstructiva). It also lists plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery as an equivalent name.
5. Ask the registering body to clarify missing or inconsistent qualifications. MinSalud's instructions cover postgraduate records and foreign qualifications.
6. Follow the numbered REPS search steps for the treatment site and surgical service.
7. Ask the departmental or district health authority to confirm an unclear surgical-service record. A consultation service alone does not establish surgical habilitation.
8. Ask for the written procedure plan, consent information and follow-up arrangements before agreeing to care.

ReTHUS is the national register of health professionals (Registro Único Nacional del Talento Humano en Salud). REPS is the health-provider register (Registro Especial de Prestadores de Servicios de Salud). A general medical record alone does not establish a claimed specialty.

Resolution 3100, surgery staffing standard calls for a specialist suited to the service offered. In special geographic dispersion areas (zonas especiales de dispersión geográfica), the standard has an exception. Physicians may operate in emergencies or cases that cannot be referred because of the clinical condition or geographic access limits. Article 1 says the resolution does not define professional scope. Approved academic programs define that scope. This guide makes no blanket claim that one specialty may perform every cosmetic procedure.

The public ReTHUS form was inspected without querying an individual. It does not itself verify a specialty. Ask the responsible registration body to confirm a missing or unclear qualification.

Informed consent

Under Ley 23, article 15, doctors must seek consent and explain consequences in advance, with exceptions where consent is impossible. Resolution 3100 describes consent as free, voluntary and informed. The patient must understand the nature, benefits, risks, alternatives and implications of care.

1. Ask the treating doctor to explain those points in a language you understand.
2. Ask which professional will perform each part of the plan.
3. Ask for a copy of the consent document and the written care instructions.

Costs and insurance questions

1. Request a written, itemised quote for professional fees, facility services, devices, medicines and follow-up.
2. Ask who pays for complications, extra nights, further procedures or a changed flight.
3. Ask the insurer whether planned treatment abroad and its complications fall within the policy.
4. Ask about exclusions, preauthorisation, deductibles, payment limits and medical transport home.
5. Request the insurer's answer in writing before relying on cover.

The CDC advises travelers to check cover for complications and arrange follow-up. The EPS and private insurance guide explains the different cover types. The payments guide covers invoices and tax records.

Documents and recovery accommodation

1. Request the clinical record, operation report, consent documents, prescriptions and discharge summary.
2. Request product and batch details for any implant or device used.
3. Request records in a language the home doctor can use.
4. Ask the treating team for written follow-up contacts and a plan for care after returning home.
5. Ask the home doctor which records they need before the trip.

Ley 1751, article 10 protects access to the clinical record and a copy. The CDC also advises travelers to obtain their overseas records.

For accommodation sold as a recovery house (casa de recuperación), the advertised name does not answer who provides care. Resolution 3100 regulates health providers and habilitated services. This is the basis for checking any health care offered with the stay.

1. Ask the local health authority which rules and permissions apply to the named property and its actual services.
2. Ask who provides any nursing or medical care included in the booking.
3. Follow the numbered registry checks for the professionals and health services offered at that address.
4. Ask the treating team how follow-up and transfer to further care would work from that address.

Travel dates

The CDC Yellow Book describes risks from air travel after surgery. This guide gives no waiting period or personal flight clearance.

1. Ask the treating doctor to assess the planned return trip.
2. Ask the airline about its medical-clearance rules.
3. Ask the booking provider how a medical delay changes the flight and accommodation terms.

Common mistakes and complaints

• Relying on a title in an advert: the specialty needs its own record check.
• Checking the wrong address: the planned surgical site and service matter.
• Assuming travel insurance covers planned surgery: the policy needs a specific review.
• Leaving without records: later care needs details of the procedure and any devices.

Supersalud's PQRD channel handles health-service requests and complaints. Professional ethics concerns use the medical ethics tribunal route (Tribunal de Ética Médica) under Ley 23. The patient-rights guide explains complaint routes. A complaint does not replace medical care or decide a claim for damages.

Exceptions: surgery for minors

Ley 1799 de 2016 generally prohibits aesthetic medical and surgical procedures for people under 18. Article 4 lists exceptions. They include nose and ear surgery, reconstructive surgery, correction of harm from other surgery, superficial chemical and mechanical peels, and laser hair removal. Procedures for documented physical or psychological conditions also have an exception. The law requires a special territorial health permit for that last category.

In C-246 de 2017, the Constitutional Court qualified the prohibition. It excludes adolescents older than 14 with the developmental capacity to join the decision with those holding parental authority. That condition also requires informed and qualified consent. Parental permission alone does not settle the legal or clinical assessment. A Colombian lawyer and the treating professional must assess the rules for a particular case.

Sources

Sources checked on 25 October 2026: MinSalud: ReTHUS; ReTHUS public search; MinSalud: ReTHUS questions; MinSalud: REPS; REPS entry screen; Education ministry: specialty names; Resolución 3100 de 2019, current text; Ley 23 de 1981; Ley 1751 de 2015; Ley 1799 de 2016; Sentencia C-246 de 2017; Supersalud: PQRD; CDC Yellow Book: medical tourism.

Educational information, not legal or tax advice. Ask a Colombian lawyer or accountant for your case.

This is not medical advice. Talk to a licensed doctor about your health.

Review your stay dates with the Colombia clocks.

Frequently asked questions

Does a ReTHUS medical record prove plastic-surgery training?

No. Check the claimed specialty and exact qualification as well. The education ministry lists more than one equivalent plastic-surgery title.

Does a recovery-house booking prove health-service authorisation?

No. Ask the local health authority about the actual services at that address. Check any health provider and treating professionals separately.

When can I fly after cosmetic surgery?

Ask the treating doctor and airline about the planned trip. CDC gives general guidance for certain operations. That guidance is not personal flight clearance.

Are cosmetic procedures always banned for minors in Colombia?

Ley 1799 has a general prohibition with statutory exceptions. C-246 de 2017 also sets conditions involving adolescents older than 14, developmental capacity, parental authority and informed, qualified consent.

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