Patients considering medical tourism should consider risks versus reward - Editorial
People understandably go overseas for surgery.
Operations such as gastric sleeves, new teeth, a full head of hair, facelifts, and tummy tucks are among those people are willing to travel for because they are cheaper in other countries.
Kiwis can save thousands by going to countries such as Turkey or Mexico.
They can get results. They can look and feel better and be healthier.
They also avoid long waiting lists in the public health system here. For example, only 500 publicly funded New Zealand bariatric surgeries are available each year. The operation costs about $20,000 privately.
There’s another bonus to going overseas. Patients can include a holiday in their recovery. Imagine sipping a cocktail by the resort pool while you admire your new set of pearly whites.
These surgeries can be life-changing, and patients can return with no complications.
It’s not always like that, though.
Just ask Manawatū woman Helen Watson, who had gastric sleeve surgery in Istanbul, Turkey, in September last year.
She went there because it was cheaper. She paid about $10,000 for the procedure, flights and accommodation.
However, Watson says she was immediately stricken with pain and problems.
Back home, Watson was taken to hospital with sepsis. She remained there for several weeks before returning earlier this year for a six-hour stomach reconstruction.
She spoke out again last week and is now recuperating.
Her ordeal sounds frightening.
The clinic in Turkey denies it is to blame. It does not accept that there is evidence of surgical error.
Watson wants her money back but has not been successful.
There are stories online about people who have ended up with botched results – or worse, suffered serious complications or even died.
However, others, such as Rotorua’s Adrian Crothers, have had surgery overseas with positive results.
He was battling intense back pain from a 25-year-old rugby injury and unable to get ACC to pay for an operation. The surgery could have cost about $175,000 at a New Zealand private hospital.
He and his wife, Rachael, went to Turkey, spent $21,000 on an operation and added a holiday. His problems are fixed.
Doctors here warn about overseas surgery.
Auckland surgeon Richard Babor says patients do not always know what they are letting themselves in for.
“It’s very hard to communicate risk, even when we take a lot of time and care in New Zealand. Overlay that with cultural differences, language barriers and quite aggressive marketing that we see from Fiji and Mexico.”
He knows of one patient who ended up paralysed.
A legal expert says people who use New Zealand-based brokers could approach them if something goes wrong, but those arranging their own operations are essentially on their own.
Medical tourism is on the rise, but people need to do their homework and assess the risks versus rewards.
Those who follow through should understand they are rolling the medical dice.