It's Never Too Late: Lorraine's Cosmetic and Dental Journey to India

In March 2026, at 67, Lorraine Marsh flew from New Zealand's Bay of Plenty to Mumbai for a tummy tuck. While she was in Mumbai, she also had a root canal and crown she'd been putting off for three years. Her dental treatment began on 2 March, her surgery was on 7 March at Wockhardt Hospitals, and she was discharged on 10 March. Her surgeon raised her age as a genuine concern before agreeing to operate — which is what a responsible surgeon should do. Lorraine's recovery went unusually well. That is her experience, not a prediction of yours: abdominoplasty carries real risks that rise with age, and this article sets those out alongside her story.

There's a belief many of us grow up with: that after a certain age, some things are no longer worth chasing. You stop worrying about the body you want. You live with the smile you've been hiding. You settle for good enough.

Lorraine Marsh wasn't ready to settle.

"I'm 67 years old and I came to Mumbai to have surgery," she says, in an interview recorded in Mumbai at the end of her treatment.

Behind that sentence sat months of planning, a great deal of research, and a decision she did not take lightly. Her story is one reason a growing number of New Zealanders now look at plastic surgery in India when treatment at home is financially out of reach.

Why Lorraine chose India

Travelling overseas for surgery wasn't an overnight decision. She had looked at another destination years earlier and walked away from it.

"It never felt right in my gut," she recalls. "I always felt that it wasn't the right move and that I wouldn't be safe there."

What changed was meeting Jackie Brown of New Zealand medical travel company at a women's health expo at Bayfair, in Mount Maunganui. Jackie didn't push. She talked through her own track record, how the process worked, and what patients could realistically expect.

That conversation was the turning point. With Jackie coordinating from New Zealand and IndiCure managing the ground arrangements in India, Lorraine felt she had a team. Together they planned both her surgery and the dental treatment she had been postponing.

Disclosure: IndiCure works in partnership with Bums Tums & Gums in New Zealand. We charge patients no facilitation fee — the partner hospital pays us. Nothing about Lorraine's trip was free or discounted for this interview.

Arriving in Mumbai

Lorraine had been to India before, but this trip was different.

"Mumbai is a huge and enormous city," she says. "We don't have this volume of people for a start, certainly not the volume of traffic. It was just a whole new experience for me."

Finding a surgeon in another country is daunting. Lorraine says she wouldn't have known where to start alone.

"IndiCure finds the right people. You fit into their space and they fit into yours, more importantly. They are just masters of their trade."

Her treatment took place at Wockhardt Hospitals, Mumbai, which holds both JCI and NABH accreditation. Accreditation is worth checking yourself before you commit to any hospital abroad — it's a verifiable standard maintained by an independent body, not a marketing claim.

The age conversation, and what the evidence says

Lorraine's abdominoplasty was performed on 7 March 2026 by Dr. Shraddha Deshpande.

What Lorraine valued most was that her surgeon raised the difficult subject herself.

"She was a little concerned about my age," Lorraine explains. "Like I said, I'm 67 years old and I came over to have a tummy tuck. She was a little concerned about my age, particularly around the healing process."

That concern was clinically well founded, and anyone considering the same procedure should understand why.

Large-scale data presented to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons found that across cosmetic surgery generally, patients over 65 had complication rates statistically indistinguishable from younger patients — but abdominoplasty was the single exception, at roughly 5.4% versus 3.9%. The most frequent problems in older patients were haematoma, infection and delayed wound healing. Separate ASPS-published research identified age 55 and above, male sex, obesity and combining abdominoplasty with other procedures as risk factors for major complications. A smaller Aesthetic Surgery Journal review found no significant difference in complications between older and younger abdominoplasty patients, and concluded that with careful patient selection the procedure can be performed safely in older patients.

The takeaway isn't that 67 is too old. It's that 67 makes patient selection, pre-operative assessment and honest conversation matter more — which is what happened here.

Lorraine prepared accordingly.

"I prepared for this for a long time. Psychologically and physically as well, emotionally, because surgery is not a light thing to take."

She says her recovery progressed faster than her surgeon anticipated. That is her account of her own experience up to the point she flew home, and it is not a typical or expected result. Healing varies enormously between individuals.

The unexpected dental chapter

Dental work wasn't in the original plan.

"I had root canals that needed doing three years ago and I couldn't afford to do them," she explains. She also had a crown fitted in Bali around a decade earlier that had never felt right.

Because Jackie's group also arranged dental treatment, Lorraine booked a consultation for 2 March, ahead of her surgery. A specialist endodontist travelled in from another hospital nearby to perform the root canal treatment — not a general dentist.

"So, you know you're in the right hands for a start," Lorraine says. "I didn't feel an ounce of pain. Not one ounce of pain. I didn't even feel the injection going into my gums."

Then came the moment that stayed with her. At the fitting, the dental team spotted a hairline crack in her newly made crown. It was barely visible. They sent it back rather than fit it.

"They refused to use something that had a teeny-weeny little crack in it," Lorraine says. "So, they sent it back. I was called back the next day and they replaced it with a completely perfect cap."

Her treatment timeline

Date	What happened
Mon 2 March 2026	Dental consultation and treatment planning
Thu 5 March 2026	Root canal treatment by visiting specialist endodontist
Sat 7 March 2026	Tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) at Wockhardt Hospitals
Tue 10 March 2026	Discharged from hospital
Wed 11 March 2026	Returned for permanent crown fitting; crack identified, crown sent back
Thu 12 March 2026	Replacement crown fitted

Sequencing dental work before surgery is deliberate. It gets the dental appointments done while the patient is fully mobile and avoids scheduling chair time during surgical recovery. Both teams should have the full treatment plan, medication list and anaesthesia history.

What it costs, and what it doesn't cover

Cost was one reason Lorraine looked beyond New Zealand. Combining two sets of treatment into one trip made the economics work.

Indicative starting prices in India:

Procedure	From (USD)
Tummy tuck	$2,950
Root canal treatment, per tooth	$100
Ceramic crown	$100

These are starting points, not quotes. Your actual cost depends on the extent of surgery, your medical history, the surgeon, the facility and the city — see our full plastic surgery cost guide for what moves the number. Budget separately for flights, accommodation, a companion if you travel with one, and travel insurance that covers planned surgery abroad, which many standard policies do not.

What a low headline price does not buy you:

follow-up care once you're home. Revision surgery, if it were ever needed, would mean either flying back or finding a local surgeon willing to manage another surgeon's complication. Factor that in honestly before you decide.

Risks you should weigh first

Abdominoplasty is major surgery. Recognised risks include bleeding and haematoma, infection, delayed or poor wound healing, seroma, changes in skin sensation, unfavourable scarring, and the risks of general anaesthesia. Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism are uncommon but serious, and long-haul flights carry their own thrombosis risk — which is why your surgeon, not your return ticket, decides when you fly home.

Root canal treatment is well established, but no dental treatment is guaranteed for life. Treated teeth can re-infect or fracture and may need retreatment or extraction later.

If you're considering treatment abroad, discuss the full plan with your GP or specialist at home before you book, and make sure someone in New Zealand is willing to see you for post-operative follow-up.

Lorraine's advice

"You cannot go wrong," she says of choosing Bums Tums & Gums together with IndiCure. "They find the right people to fit your needs, and I don't think I could have been in better hands."

Every patient's situation is different, and treatment decisions should always follow a detailed consultation with a qualified surgeon who has assessed you personally. For Lorraine, the trip became about more than surgery. It gave her renewed confidence, relief from years of postponed dental problems, and evidence that age needn't dictate what's possible.

If you're weighing this up, you can read other New Zealand patients' experiences, watch more patient interviews, or read about another New Zealander's dental treatment in Mumbai and a Kiwi patient's bariatric surgery journey. For a realistic look at the procedure itself, our piece on the realities and myths of tummy tuck surgery is a good place to start.

When you're ready, the first step is simply a conversation — a confidential, no-obligation consultation with our team.

Frequently asked questions

Is 67 too old for a tummy tuck?

Age alone doesn't disqualify anyone, but abdominoplasty is the one cosmetic procedure where research has found a measurably higher complication rate in patients over 65 — around 5.4% versus 3.9%, according to data presented to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Candidacy depends on your overall health, existing conditions and healing capacity, and can only be assessed individually by a qualified surgeon.

Can you combine cosmetic surgery and dental treatment in one trip?

Yes, and many international patients do, because it consolidates travel costs. Sequencing matters — dental work is usually completed first so it doesn't intrude on surgical recovery — and both teams need visibility of the complete treatment plan.

How long do you need to stay in India for a tummy tuck?

Plan for roughly two to three weeks: consultation and pre-operative investigations, a hospital stay of about three to five days, drain removal, and a final surgical review before you're cleared to fly.

What does a tummy tuck cost in India compared with New Zealand?

Abdominoplasty in India starts from around USD 2,950 and varies with the extent of surgery, your medical history, the surgeon, the facility and the city. Comparable surgery in New Zealand and Australia generally costs several times more. All figures are indicative until you have a personalised quote.

Which hospital in Mumbai treats international patients for cosmetic surgery?

Lorraine was treated at Wockhardt Hospitals, Mumbai, which holds both JCI and NABH accreditation. We recommend verifying any hospital's accreditation independently before committing.

DISCLOSURES

Individual results: This article describes one patient's experience. Surgical and dental outcomes vary between individuals. Nothing here should be read as a prediction or guarantee of your own result.

Medical disclaimer: This article is for general information and does not constitute medical or dental advice. It is not a substitute for consultation with a qualified surgeon or dentist who has assessed you personally. Always discuss treatment abroad with your own doctor before making a decision.