Medical Tourism, also called Medical Travel, offers access to medical services at prices never before imaginable to a resident of the US, Canada, and the UK. However, when some see an opportunity to get several plastic surgery procedures done at the same time, they are putting their lives at risk. With lots of Doctors agreeing to do so, choosing only those professionals with the highest ethical standards pays off.
It’s well known by now, prices for surgery in a place like India or Costa Rica beat those in the US by at least 60%. A whole new population now have access to for example, a $3,500 tummy tuck, that was before only accessed by the lucky few with over $10K to spare. However, as plastic surgery turns less expensive, there are some who see an opportunity to get several procedures done at the same time, and being completely unaware of the danger they face. Maddy’s case better illustrates how patients don’t know they’re placing their lives at risk and how some unethical Doctors just find a way to comply.
Maddy is planning to revamp her whole look. The 45 year-old mother of three has lost over 100 lbs since her lap band surgery about two years ago. Now that she has achieved her desired weight, and with savings in her bank, Maddy begins to plan another major investment in her image and self-esteem. Looking beyond her local surgeons in Portland, Oregon, and especially if thinking about options abroad, the possibilities go way beyond the original tummy tuck she had thought about. The budget of $15 thousand that she had in mind for a tummy tuck with a prestigious local surgeon now (in theory) could also cover a thigh lift, an arm lift, a breast lift with implants and a butt lift as well. With a demanding job that makes it difficult for her to take time off more than once a year, she’s only happy to inquire about doing all this at once. She’s even thinking that perhaps all that uncomfortable recovery and pain is better handled all at the same time rather than in two or three different episodes. Upon inquiring and sending pictures to surgeons and medical travel firms in various countries she’ll receive two radically different answers from plastic surgery professionals. One option will stress the fact that she’s a perfect candidate to come for two (maximum three) of those procedures, and then return around two or three months later for the remainder. And another who immediately agrees to perform either all of them at once, or suggest her to come for two surgery sessions only a few days apart. The fact is, that the latter group is running unnecessary risks in uninformed patients.
As much as the former group of surgeons would love to have Maddy come and get all this at once, their ethics go beyond just the money. They know well that:
1) Keeping a patient under anesthesia for more than six hours (suitable for around two the mentioned procedures) is dangerous and raises the risk of blood clots in surgery
2) Not all of these procedures should be done simultaneously in order to allow for better blood irrigation to wounded areas
3) The amount of blood loss when doing only half of those surgeries at the same time is recoverable in no less than a month, making the patient run the risk of going into shock during a second surgery, if done within a short timeframe
4) The amount of pain and discomfort even two weeks after the first surgical session is still an issue for undergoing a second set
However, it is increasingly common to see other surgeons fall into the latter group and please unknowing patients with up to six plastic surgeries in one trip. Such is the typical case of surgeons from distant parts of the world, which since the patient face much larger airfares and travel times when flying from the US (figure some parts of Asia) cannot compete against Mexican or other Latin American counterparts in relatively inexpensive fields as plastic and weight loss surgery. In order to offer attractive prices, some are coming up with creative, albeit dangerous packages like the one Maddy chose. She traveled to India to get all the mentioned procedures in two surgery sessions, only two weeks apart, and spending a whole month in a hotel room. At Travel For Care, we care about our patients’ health. We will continue working only with surgeons who have the highest ethical standards and will never please patients while compromising their health and well-being. Our offering is valuable enough and our location is close enough to anyone in North America that coming for several sessions is never a problem. We’ve had several repeat patients and will continue to see them in the future. Our message is that when planning a huge set of plastic surgeries, base your choice on quality more than price.
Travel For Care is an innovative Medical Travel firm headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico, marketing Medical Solutions to American patients looking for elective and non-elective procedures. For more information, please visit www.travelforcare.com
Contact:
Heather Wicklow
Manager
Travel For Care
Heather@travelforcare.com
Toll Free: (800)571-0640
Travel For Care has been awarded a 2010 Customer Service Award for “professionalism in dealing with patient enquiries last year from WhatClinic.com”. A fast response time with patient inquiries and follow-up questions, as well as the detail-oriented attitude of our client service team have made this possible. “It’s not all about selling”, mentions Heather Wicklow, Travel For Care’s Manager, “our business is concierge medical tourism, and to be at the top, we have always taken care of every single prospective client as if it was already a client, and every single client that comes to Monterrey, as a close friend.” Awards like this one encourage our firm to be even better and keep up all the good work.
