The Medical tourism market is getting bigger. More and more people choose the travelling option to save money on dental procedures, plastic surgery, etc. What are the most important things to consider before going on a medical tourism trip?
Planning on visiting another country for medical purposes is a process involving several steps: calculation, choice of procedure and location, appraisal by doctor via e-mail, travel to the destination country and finally the procedure itself.
“Clinics that we cooperate with accept medical tourism patients all the time. They point out that the distance is a problem at first. The doctor cannot examine the patient and everything must happen via e-mail, but there are ways to make it possible, that is why medical tourism is getting more and more popular,” says Tomasz Zdun, project manager, www.cosmedictravel.com, medical tourism booking website.
Step 1. Calculation
Obviously the patient first needs to calculate whether travelling abroad for medical purposes is going to be affordable for him, and if he or she is really going to save up money.
It is not worth going abroad just to deal with small medical problems (unless the trip is combined with a tourist visit and the chosen treatment is not too invasive, e.g. laser wart removal). The most popular medical tourism procedures are: dentistry (implants, crowns, root canal treatment, veneers), plastic surgery (liposuction, breast implants, nose surgeries, etc.), medical procedures (eye surgery such as cross – linking, kerarings, varices operations, orthopaedic surgery, etc.). In addition, more expensive procedures of aesthetic medicine, like Radiesse, Regeneris, Sculptra or Zaffiro, are becoming more and more popular among medical tourists. The reason for that is simple: they are cheaper abroad. You get the same quality for a much lower price. Depending on the procedure, they can cost 2-3 times less than in a patient’s country of origin. Even including the cost of flights and accommodation, it still adds up to a big discount.
Step 2. Choice of procedure
It is harder than you may think. For example you might think that the best way for you to regain a youthful appearance is an eyebrow lift but after seeing your photos, the doctor might tell you, that the best option for you is to have a full face lift.
If you decide to change your smile the best way is to send a panoramic photo of your teeth, so the dentist can confirm and give prices for the necessary dental procedures. Again, when deciding on liposuction, the best way is to send photos to the clinic so that they can either confirm that what you had in mind would be suitable, or else propose another solution that would better meet your expectations.
Step 3. Appraisal by doctor via email
This was partially covered in Step 2. Without photos it is very hard for doctors to give a diagnosis and confirm that what you expect is actually achievable (of course, it is a different matter, if you had a consultation in your country of origin and are just doing the procedure elsewhere). Of course it shouldn’t be the only factor that decides whether you are accepted for the procedure or not. Plastic surgery requires having multiple blood tests done before undergoing surgery. It is best to do them in your own country so you can be sure you qualify for surgery.
Regarding photos, if the procedure concerns only the body, then showing your face is unnecessary. For nose job, you should send 3 photos: front, profile and from beneath. Remember, photos are strictly confidential and clinics are not allowed to show them to anyone else without your permission.
“Sending photos by patient is proof for us that a person is thinking seriously about coming to Poland and getting this or that done,” says www.cosmedictravel.com project manager. “Also, it makes doctors’ and clinic staff’s lives easier. They can see for themselves what they are dealing with,” adds Tomasz Zdun.
Step 4. Getting the procedure done
At this point all you need to do is show up and get things done. How should you prepare yourself? It all depends on the procedure. In some cases a preliminary procedure may be required. For example, in order to get one procedure done, you need to get different one first, e.g. whitening teeth first before getting veneers, or having a bone augmentation before dental implant surgery. Sometimes the actual cost can be a little higher than calculated beforehand, which is perfectly normal. It might be because doctors had to do more work than they originally thought would be necessary. As long as it doesn’t differ too much, it is fine, and shouldn’t worry you.
source: http://www.melodika.net / Home of Music> Article> CosMedic Travel / Wednesday, June 27th, 2012
