{"id":579110,"date":"2026-04-01T18:55:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T18:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/579110\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T18:55:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T18:55:15","slug":"after-epic-weight-loss-journey-woman-forced-to-fly-overseas-for-skin-removal-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/579110\/","title":{"rendered":"After epic weight-loss journey, woman forced to fly overseas for skin removal surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"

After losing an epic 90 kilograms, you’d think Codie McGovern had done all the hard work to change her body and life.<\/p>\n

“Now I hover around about 80,” Codie told A Current Affair.<\/p>\n

“What’s important to note is with that, my surgeon thinks there’s about 12 kilos worth of (excess) skin,” she said.<\/p>\n

After losing an epic 90 kilograms, you’d think Codie McGovern had done all the hard work to change her body and life. (A Current Affair)<\/p>\n

The loose skin from her weight loss isn’t a vanity issue – it’s a medical one.<\/p>\n

It rubs and pulls as Codie goes about her daily life – from rolling over in her sleep to when she trains.<\/p>\n

It’s prone to infections and irritations, and the situation will only deteriorate as she ages.<\/p>\n

“Thirty-year-old Codie that’s completely fit and able, ends up being able to make those adjustments,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Eighty-year-old Codie, carrying 12 kilos worth of skin, when her muscle is deteriorated and skin decreases in its quality as well, that’s not viable.”<\/p>\n

And so Codie started investigating skin removal surgery.<\/p>\n

Codie desperately needed skin-tightening surgery after losing 90 kilograms but the only place she could afford was thousands of kilometres away. (A Current Affair)<\/p>\n

Facing a two-year wait in the public health system, Codie took out top-tier private health insurance and met with a surgeon.<\/p>\n

“He sat there and said, You have done all of the hard work. There is nothing more you can do,” Codie recalled.<\/p>\n

It was the ultimate vindication for the 30-year-old, who had spent the last decade loosing the weight the ‘old fashion’ way through diet and exercise.<\/p>\n

Then came the quote for the procedure.<\/p>\n

“It was close to $100,000,” Codie said.<\/p>\n

“I go, I’m stuck like this. There’s literally nothing more I can do. Even if I was to keep training, even if I did lose more weight, no matter what I do I am left with this unless I get it surgically removed.”<\/p>\n

Determined to take control of the situation, Codie began investigating surgical options overseas.<\/p>\n

Determined to take control of the situation, Codie began investigating surgical options overseas. (A Current Affair)<\/p>\n

And she’s not alone.<\/p>\n

Cosmetic tourism is exploding – last year alone, Australians dropped $300 million on medical procedures abroad.<\/p>\n

The lure – cheap prices and quick turnarounds- but the “savings” often come at a dangerous price<\/p>\n

Plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr Justin Perron told A Current Affair all surgery carries risks – no matter the location.<\/p>\n

“Bad outcomes can happen anywhere,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I think the danger of going overseas is the very real risk of taking your life into your own hands for very complex procedures – the other problem is you don’t really know who’s operating on you when the lights go out.”<\/p>\n

Perron said surgery in Australia costs more due to insurance, hospital fees, medical practice operating costs, specialist training and after care.<\/p>\n

Current Medicare rebates don’t reflect those prices.<\/p>\n

Codie settled on travelling to Thailand and booked in for an upper body reconstruction. (A Current Affair)<\/p>\n

“Rightfully I think anybody should look at anything with at least a little bit of cost in mind,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I think the asymmetric challenge between Australia and overseas surgeons has to do with again a different environment to Australia, I mean you name it there’s a whole laundry list of things we have to be able to cover before we can even step inside an operating room” he said.<\/p>\n

Codie settled on travelling to Thailand and booked in for an upper body reconstruction.<\/p>\n

But even with all her research – she found information limited.<\/p>\n

That’s when she approached A Current Affair – offering to document her experience – not knowing what the outcome would be.<\/p>\n

“I am scared, I’m excited, but at the end of the day, the nerves that I feel about surgery doesn’t outweigh the relief and the life I’m going to get back,” she said.<\/p>\n

Arriving in Thailand after an eight-hour flight, Codie checked into her accommodation and was admitted to hospital – the ward like any other you’d see in Australia.<\/p>\n

She underwent thorough medical tests and met with her surgeon, before suffering her first major blow.<\/p>\n

She underwent thorough medical tests and met with her surgeon, before suffering her first major blow. (A Current Affair)<\/p>\n

“What was initially estimated as an eight hour surgery ended up being a 12 to 13 hour surgery, and there was a part of me that was ready to tap out,” Codie said.<\/p>\n

“Like, is there a potential that I’m now at risk of, you know, not making it through the surgery, given it’s so long”<\/p>\n

“I almost felt like I was forced into it – not because of anyone – but because I was like, well, I’m here, I’m on the bed, and the IVs in, and I couldn’t just make a quick call or ask additional questions. It was, well, this is your shot, or it’s not.”<\/p>\n

Codie went through with the operation – spending some time recovering in ICU before being transferred to the ward.<\/p>\n

She couldn’t fault the care provided by nursing staff, although the language barrier was hard to navigate at times.<\/p>\n

She did suffer two major complications – biting her tongue during the operation, and then contracting gastro three days after surgery.<\/p>\n

“If you are going, make sure you’re taking a support person – you need someone there to be able to advocate for you if you maybe won’t be able to.” she said.<\/p>\n

Three weeks later Codie is now at home – recovering well – with some stitches still to be removed – she’ll need to find a local doctor to do that.<\/p>\n

“I 100 per cent wish I could have had this at home, even now, like I’m getting a little bit upset, like I was terrified and I had no option and for anyone that has any type of pull in any of this. Something needs to change,” she said.<\/p>\n

Perron admits options can be limited though.<\/p>\n

“Hospitals are now asking plastic surgeons not to become part of their hospital system anymore because they feel they’re not making enough from insurance companies,” he said.<\/p>\n

Codie is now advocating for reform in Australia.<\/p>\n

She’s also planning her lower body skin removal surgery – and after that, her wedding to fiance Zac.<\/p>\n

“Let’s bridge the gaps. Let’s make the process easier, whether that’s public, private,” Codie said.<\/p>\n

“Things need to be accessible, and they need to not have these huge price tags or huge timelines.”<\/p>\n

You can follow more of Codie’s story on social media at\u00a0@theweightofbecoming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After losing an epic 90 kilograms, you’d think Codie McGovern had done all the hard work to change…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":579111,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-579110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/579111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}