Ignored aspects in Medical Travel

The medical travel industry is still in the budding stages. There are no set guide lines and licences to obtain. Many medical tourism operators concentrate on only price. They often think that they are here to just to broker the service. But they should also ensure the safety safety during the process. 

Many medical tourism providers don't get adequate medical information from the patient. Some of the most commonly missed aspects are past surgeries, drug allergies, food allergies and the patient expectations regarding the surgery. There are often inquiries by patients who don't really need a procedure. Still, some companies facilitate such surgeries and some doctors still do them. Thus it is vitally important to enlist the services of a medical tourism company that is managed by healthcare professionals

Cosmetic Surgeries common practices | Medical Tourism

Hair Care

By age 50, about 50% of American men—and a substantial number of women—are affected by hair loss, much of which is hereditary. Hair transplantation is normally used to restore baldind head. However it is also used to correct eye brows, beard, mustache, chest hair and pubic hair.

Hair is extracted by 2 common techniques

Strip harvesting: Here a piece of skin containing hair is removed  and further processed for transplantation. This leaves a scar in the donor area but should be un noticeable with normal hair length in the surrounding areas. The donor area is sutured and the recovery is expected in 2 weeks.

Follicular unit extraction/FUE harvesting: This advanced procedure utilizes the removal of hair follicle with tiny punches ranging approximately from  ½ to 1 mm under local anesthesia. No suturing is required and recovery is expected in 1 week.

 Micro-hair transplantation is a state-of-the-art hair transplantation technique that has replaced "plugs" or larger grafts of hair . Newer computerized hair transplantation techniques are currently undergoing clinical trails.

Forehead Lift

If you believe that your forehead is preventing you from looking as good as you feel, a forehead lift, also called a brow lift, may be a good option for you. This procedure is also called" brow lift". A forehead lift corrects the sagging or low position of the eyebrows, softens horizontal creases across the forehead and erases the worried or angry expression that can result from frown lines. This procedure is sometimes combined with other surgeries to bring about a more uniform appearance.

Over the time, this surgery has changed from invasive techniques to more complex short incision and endoscopic techniques. The Brow Lift procedure normally involves incisions in the hair-bearing scalp and very rarely, incisions may be performed in the forehead, and the upper eyelids.Then, various degrees of undermining of the skin are carried out, and the deeper layers of the forehead are 'lifted'. This results in reversing the effects of gravity and tightening of soft tissues of the forehead . This restores a more youthful contour to the upper face. The outcome is a more relaxed and refreshed appearance.

Eyelid surgery

This procedure is also called Blepharoplasty. Eyelid surgery is performed on men and women of all ages who wants to improve their self-image. Most people have eyelid surgery to minimize the effects of aging. However, many people in their 20s or 30s may also benefit from the procedure, especially Asian Blepharoplasty.

In the routine Blepharoplasty, the incisions are made in the natural creases of the upper eyelids and below the eye lashes of the lower eyelid. This procedure was further refined to eliminate the scar on the lower eyelid by making the incision of the lower eyelid on the inside surface (Transconjuctival Blepharoplasty). This procedure is sometimes combined with simultaneous chemical peel.

Face Lift

Some of the most visible signs of aging first appear on the face. Although the changes appears gradually, there may come a day when you look in the mirror and decide that the face you see doesn't reflect the way you feel about yourself. If you'd like to look as good as you feel, a facelift can help. Also known as rhytidectomy, a facelift smooths the loose skin on your face and neck, tightens underlying tissues and removes excess fat.

The facelift surgery continues to develop from simple skin lifting to more complex deeper plane lifting techniques. Today we have various techniques, which provide outcomes that are consistently reliable and durable. In the facelift procedure incisions are usually made in front of and behind the ear. These incisions might extend into the scalp. Then various degrees of undermining of the skin are performed, and the deeper layers of the face are 'lifted'. Muscle tightening as well as liposuction of the neck and jowls may be performed, and excess skin is either removed or repositioned. As a result, your face will appear firmer and fresher.

Lip Augmentation

Lip augmentation is usually performed to create fuller, plumper lips and reduces fine wrinkles around the mouth. Lips are injected with fat from another site in the patient's body. Liquid collage can also be used.

Both are absorbed by the body and repeat treatments are usually necessary to maintain results. The longer lasting options are AlloDerm, Soft Form and Gore-Tex.

Breast Augmentation

If you often wish that your breasts were larger, fuller or more shapely, breast augmentation surgery may be the right choice for you. Breast augmentation (also called augmentation mammoplasty) is a cosmetic procedure that uses implants to enlarge and shape the breasts. Your new look will bring you greater freedom with fashion and may give you self image a boost as well.

This procedure usually involves an implant. Saline and silicone implants are normally used. The silicone implants continue to develop. The current 5th generation silicone implants have greatly minimized the risks of capsular contracture and leakage.

Breast Lift

The breast lift is also called Mastoplexy. This procedure is used to improve breast aesthetics of a woman by surgical manipulation of contour,size and pectoral elevation of the breast. Many variations of the surgical techniques are used. An important consideration is to preserve the integrity of nipple areola complex. This surgery is normally done for women having proper size breast , but lacking contour and elevation. However it is not uncommon to see the use of implants in some cases.

Tummy Tuck

This procedure is also referred as abdominoplasty.A flat stomach is important to a physically fit appearance. However, a healthy diet and regular abdominal workouts can sometimes do little to eliminate accumulations of excess fat and loose, sagging skin in the abdominal area. If you are bothered by these appearance problems, abdominoplasty (also called "Tummy tuck") may be a good choice for you.

This procedure usually involves an incision from hip to hip just above the pubic area. The navel is surgically freed from surrounding tissue. Simultaneous liposuction may be carried out in the surrounding areas to ensure a refined abdominal sculpture.

Liposuction

Liposuction Liposuction is most commonly recommended for men and women of normal weight who simply want to improve their body contour. The procedure can produce excellent results for people who have deposits of excess fat that make certain body areas appear disproportionately large. Although liposuction is not a treatment for obesity, it can permanently alter body proportion and is sometimes the only way to eliminate fat deposits that do not respond to diet and exercise.This usually reserved for healthy patients who have tried diet and exercise with few stubborn pockets of fat. This procedure is not usually for people with Diabetes, Heart condition and elderly patients with very loose skin.

Take the first step towards the control of your life now. We will take care of the rest.

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Medical Tourism | Bariatric Surgeries Simplified

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is the parameter commonly used for screening eligible patients for weight loss surgeries. The acceptable BMI for the Bariatric surgeries is 40 and above. But the trends have changed. Recently the FDA has  reduced the BMI limits for individuals with preexisting additional risk factors that can be helped with weight loss.

The major  risk factors include Diabetes, B.P., High Cholesterol, Osteo arthritis, Gastric re-flux / ulcer, Metabolic syndrome and Sleep apnea.

The bariatric surgeries are some of the most sought after surgeries in medical tourism. We congratulate you for taking the first step to take control of  your health and quality of life. We can help you every way we can to help you to take control of your life.

We will direct you to our JCI acredited hospitals with surgeons with clinical experience in US /Western Europe. That should take care of the quality part. These doctors are some of the best in their field with vast surgical experience.

Here are some of the most commonly practiced surgeries with their pros and cons along with the price range.

Lap Band: 

Here is the trend setter. This is the least invasive of all bariatric surgeries. This is recommended for people with BMI of over 40. The FDA has recently approved the lap band for patients with BMI as low as 30 that have co morbidities , which are known to improve with weight loss. These include GERD, Hypertension, Sleep apnea, Osteo arthritis, Diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

In this procedure , the surgeon makes few tiny incisions and affix the adjustable gastric band and creates port access in the abdominal wall. The band can be adjusted simply by injecting or withdrawing saline into the port.

The major brands are Lap Band, the Realize adjustable gastric band, Heliogast and Midband The advantages include Reversible, Good weight loss, band can be adjusted without surgery to achieve goals. Average hospital stay is 2 days. Cost: Approx. $6,000

Roux-en -Y gastric by pass: 

The stomach bypass /  Roux-en –Y gastric bypass surgery is also known simply as Gastric By Pass. This is the gold standard bariatric surgery against which, the other procedures are compared. The procedure involves surgically restricting the size of the upper stomach, which limits the food intake and results in weight loss. This is by far most widely performed bariatric surgery with very good results. A small egg sized pouch is created in the upper stomach, which then by passes the remainder of the stomach and connected to small intestine. The normal stomach is about the size of Rugby ball ( or American football). The extent of by passing the intestine creates variations of gastric bypass.

The normal small intestine is about 20-33 feet in length. The length of small bowel spared during the Y intersection determines the procedure. . In the proximal Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, most of the small intestine is preserved for the absorption of nutrients. Here the pouch is connected to the upper end of small intestine.

In the distal Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, the pouch is connected to the lower part of the small intestine( typically within 3-5 feet from the lower end.

This surgery is typically considered irreversible, although there have been cases of successful reversal. The reversal is usually considered as more complicated than the actual surgery.

The gastric bypass is performed by 2 methods. - Traditional and Laparoscopic

The Traditional gastric bypass employs conventional surgical techniques with a large incision. This results in longer recovery time and is associated with more complications.

The Laparoscopic gastric bypass greatly reduces the recovery time and associated complications. This procedure is normally considered as the toughest of all laparoscopic surgeries.

Features: Better weight loss, irreversible. Average hospital stay is 4 days. Cost: Approx . $8,500

Sleeve Gastrectomy:

The Sleeve Gastrectomy like other bariatric surgeries is reserved for patients of BMI over 40 or BMI of over 35 if accompanied by other risk factors such as Type -2 Diabetes, Sleep apnea and Heart disease. Unlike the Gastric bypass, the small intestines are not manipulated in this surgery. The surgeon creates a banana shaped pouch in the stomach, which removes about 80-85% of the stomach. The remaining of the stomach is stapled closed. This procedure can be done laparoscopically and can be completed in 60-90 minutes.

This surgery, like gastric bypass is considered irreversible. This procedure is known to cause fewer nutritional deficiencies than gastric bypass.

Features: Better Weight loss, irreversible. Average hospital stay is 4 days. Cost: Approx. $8,500

Biliary Pancreatic Diversion:

This procedure is similar to gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy in that a significant portion of stomach is removed. ( about 70%) thus limiting food intake and acid production. Then the small intestine is dissected and one end is connected to the end of the stomach. The bile and pancreatic juices are routed through another part of dissected small intestine and joined to the small intestine carrying food in the last 3 feet. Since the food does not come into contact with most of digestive juices, absorption is significantly reduced and thus results in weight loss.

Features: Better Weight loss, Irreversible. average hospital stay is 4 days. Cost: Approx. 9,500.

Is ignorance a bliss in medical tourism? A case review

We have recently talked about the excessive risk taking by American patients. May be we can learn a few lessons from international medical tourists. There have been patients venturing for medical tourism routinely for major medical procedures from Africa and Middle East. They normally don't take the same risk as a typical american Medical Tourism patient. They know that they are going there for a purpose. They are aware that they are not going shopping at flea market. Naturally their outcomes are better.                                              

In general, the American patient is well educated, knowledgeable and assertive compared to the patients discussed above. These patients also typically shop a lot over the internet. Is the amazon.com culture blinding them and hampering their judgement? We recently have a physician as a client from a major city of eastern USA. She had a  blotched tummy tuck from a previous surgery. She was all set up for the procedure with a JCI accredited  hospital for a tummy tuck and breast job, but she ultimately decided to go to a nameless hospital in Dominican Republic. This was supposed to save her about $1,000.00. We have tried to explain her the difference, but upon her insistence, we wished her all the best. We did not facilitate that surgery. We don't want to mention the name of the other company.

We got a call from her approximately after 3 months. We were shocked to learn what has happened. The surgery is a total failure. She had a serious post surgical infection after her breast augmentation and lost some significant amount of  tissue as a result. She has spent over $40,000 just for the hospital. Now she is facing multiple surgeries to gain a near normal look. Her case has reinforced our belief not to engage in such practices. if this can happen to a smart physician, think about the fate of a normal patient!!

The importance of safety in medical tourism

The medical tourism industry has seen an impressive growth in the last decade. Since there are no established standards in this emerging industry, it is often plagued with growing pains. One of these problems includes the compromised  patient safety. Mostly, this industry is managed by marketing people, who are not best known for their ethics. This problem is further compounded by the clinics and surgeons undertaking surgeries for medical tourism patients. There is nothing wrong with that. But the issue is, some of these clinics do not have facilities to safely operate on medical tourism patients. They don't compete on quality, but just on price.

 

Since medical tourism has a huge online presence, most of the referrals are generated over the internet. The best way to get the consumer's (patient?) attention is by a dirt cheap price. The surgery tourism patients compare the prices with their home country and obviously feel that they are getting a good deal. But these facilities fail to disclose that quality aspect. This is especially evident from many medical tour stories that have surfaced in the recent times about the patients who have obtained plastic surgery abroad. We will be providing this much sought after information to the patients and committed to educate the patients to ensure a safer experience.

Medical Tourism | New Hospital in Goa

We are happy to announce the introduction of Wockhardt group hospitals. This group has a strong presence in India and is also involved in bio technology and pharmaceuticals. In fact Wockhardt is the first company outside the western world  to manufacture human recombitant insulin. This group is the former owners of Fortis Hospitals in India. this hospital collaborates with Harvard Medical school, USA.

We will be concentrating on 2 major hospitals in this group. Goa and Mumbai. this group is currently building a multi speciality hospital in Mumbai, which is set open in 2012. Wockhardt is a known name in patients seeking medical india tourism. Goa is ideally placed for international medical travel. It boasts best beaches in India and is tourism hot spot. It attracts about 12% of foreign tourists annually. It give the patients an unbeatable choice to overseas medical care into a medical vacation. The average income in Goa is 2-3 times that of the rest of India and it has natural beauty and amenities to be cherished by western tourists.

Perception of Medical Tourism about Mexico

Mexico attracts a lot of medical tourists from United States and Canada. The proximity to the North American economic powers and easier travel has benefited many patients. Despite this Mexico suffers from poor image in medical tourism. Some of the reasons being violent crime, poor quality in the most popular destinations, lack of institutional oversight, concerns about safety and language barriers. We will try to address these problems in detail.



Political instability and the increasing influence of drug mafia has raised serious concerns among Americans. Though these fears are over rated, there is still some element of truth. The news about killings and violence in major cities and around the border would not help its cause.

The proximity to USA and Canada has placed a lot of unrealistic expectations on Mexican medical practice. Although there are some reputed hospitals like those with JCI accreditation s and ISO certifications; for many hospitals, there is still a lot of room for improvement. The medical tourism has placed the the clinics in greed. The medical tourists taking reckless risks regardless of the quality of the hospitals just to save a few hundred dollars share the equal blame. Many so called hospitals are the size of some single family homes in America. In contrast, most other medical tourism destinations in India, Singapore and Thailand have the hospital bed strength in hundreds and have standard procedures in place.



Lack of tighter government control won't safeguard patients against quacks. And similar to many other countries, there is little legal recourse. Tourists are normally warned not to venture out after dark or to board un documented taxis. Having said that, there is still some quality medical tourism in Mexico. Dealing with a quality oriented and best medical tourism company is your best bet. Don't be greedy and stay away from the cheap surgery places. They are that way for a reason. You can still save a lot by dealing with reputed places, without  taking unacceptable risks.

The best Medical Tourism company

There are many choices when it comes to medical tourism. The new companies mushroom everyday. The picture gets complicated by the fact there is absolutely no way that the consumer can make sure that information available is correct. There are many facilities abroad that are no bigger than a single family home. How can one realistically have all the equipment necessary ta take care of post surgical patients? How is it possible to have the same kind of post operative care of that of bigger hospitals? Does this hospital in the picture makes you feel comfortable?

There are many clinics and medical tourism companies virtually ignores these facts. Cheap surgery should not translate into Russian Roulette. This is where we come into picture.

We are an American medical tourism company managed by American health care professionals. We care deeply about the safety of our patients. We don't see our clients as dollar signs, but as our neighbors going under knife in some unknown destinations. We deal only with quality oriented hospitals to make the experience safe and fulfilling. Our hospitals are JCI accredited or have their strict international equivalents.

Visit our website for more info: http://www.worldmedicalandsurgical.com