Issues with unfinished PhD I was doing my PhD in computer science from a university in USA. I had done most of the work, the research, papers, proposal and the like. I had some personal issues and had to leave it unfinished (just 3-6 months from my final defense) and come back to my country. I did talk with my advisor and he said I can come back any time (as in a few years maybe) and defend my thesis.

Now the problem is it's been a 3 years already and it's very unlikely for me to go back even for a week. I have already stated everywhere (my employers) that I have almost finished it and they know that I had to leave because of personal reasons.

My questions are:


Is it worth trying to go back and finish it risking my health.
What kind of problems should I expect to face because of it in my future.
What are the likely setbacks I will have in my career.
How to deal or what steps to take to minimize the damage?


Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
As @Alexandros said, it is not clear why you would be risking your health, should you decide to finish the program. Working remotely on dissertation is certainly feasible (I've done that personally), if your committee doesn't mind and the program allows it. However, defending dissertation remotely might be more challenging to obtain permission to, but still possible. All that very much depends on your university, the program office and, to a lesser degree, the faculty involved. In regard to your specific questions, they are IMHO very broad and, thus, impossible to answer without knowing lots of personal circumstances and even after that the advice could be taken with a huge grain of salt.