In January, we completed a study of all our patient inquiries about traveling overseas for surgery and learned that most requests fell into five medical areas: orthopedic, spine, weight loss, cosmetic and coronary. The top 10 procedures within these five areas are:

Orthopedic procedures

1. Knee Replacement

2. Hip Resurfacing

3. Hip Replacement

Spine surgery

4. Disk Fusion

5. Disk Replacement

Weight loss surgery

6. Lap Band surgery

7. Gastric Bypass surgery

Cosmetic and dental surgery

8. A wide range of cosmetic surgeries, generally not covered by U.S. insurance companies, are available abroad.

Heart Surgery

9. Heart Bypass surgery

10.Heart Valve surgery

Our study underscores that the best cases for overseas travel are where:

1. Need is not immediate. A patient with chest pain must get to an emergency room, not an airport. Patients must obtain fit-to-travel authorization from their doctor.


2. Savings, in either cost or waiting time, is substantial. With the cost of care in the U.S. skyrocketing and long wait lists for procedures requiring specialists in Canada, the list of patients who will benefit from medical travel will continue to grow. A good medical travel company can quickly provide cost and timeframe estimates for overseas treatment, which patients can then use to compare with their options at home.


3. Time spent abroad is short. Few people are willing to be away from home and family for extended periods when undergoing a medical procedure. Typically patients consider less than three weeks acceptable.

This list is a guide, not a rulebook; there is plenty of room for deviation. For instance, a liver transplant patient needs to spend more than two months abroad, but still makes a good candidate for medical travel because the cost savings would be more than $300,000, and the waiting time is virtually eliminated, a factor that can translate into the difference between life and death.

Is medical travel right for you?

Finding a reputable company that specializes in helping patients discover their options for medical treatment away from home is the first step in determining if you or someone you know is a good candidate for overseas treatment. Companies like WorldMed Assist help patients evaluate whether overseas travel is a viable option, and if so, provide guidance as to the reputable hospitals and doctors for the procedure. As soon as the patient makes a destination decision, the global health care facilitator can handle the rest: transfer of medical records, conference calls with the surgeon, scheduling, travel and lodging arrangements.

Shifting demographics

The number of medical travelers is growing exponentially each year, and is expected to reach 300,000 this year. Far more interesting than the number of travelers, however, is the shifting demographic over the last decade in who is going abroad, where they're going, and what surgery they're having. Three big swings have emerged:

1. It's no longer an industry catering primarily to dental and cosmetic surgery


2. Several developing countries now offer care at least on par with, and often better that that available in the U.S.


3. It's no longer an option reserved for the wealthy or adventurous.

To learn more about surgery away from home

Orthopedic Surgery Abroad: http://www.worldmedassist.com/Orthopedic-Surgery-Abroad.htm

Spine Surgery Abroad: http://www.worldmedassist.com/Spine-Surgery-India.htm

Weight Loss Surgery Abroad: http://www.worldmedassist.com/Weight-Loss-Surgery-Abroad.htm

Robbie Neely is Communications Director for WorldMed Assist, experts in medical tourism. WorldMed Assist's mission is to help patients receive high quality medical treatment abroad at affordable prices, coordinating and simplifying every aspect of care and travel. Doctors and hospitals in India, Turkey, Belgium and Mexico are carefully selected to match each client's specific needs.

Source: www.isnare.com