How Health Vacations Can Ease the Pain in Your Back

India Makes the News Again

Although India often comes up as a preferred destination for medical tourism due to the available quality of care, infrastructure, and technical skill of the physicians, the country recently made headlines again.  This time, it took on the cost of disc degeneration repair for an American citizen with limited options in his home country.  What was special about this operation was the fact that it was a complex four level disc replacement surgery that had never been done before in India. 

Beating the Cost of Disc Degeneration Repair

FDA restrictions prevented fifty-eight-year-old Kim Lewis Busk from getting the surgery in the United States.  Dr Harshavardhan Hegde, head of the Department of Orthopedics and Spine Surgery at Artemis Health Institute, explained that the procedure would have cost Busk approximately $250,000 in a European country.  As a construction contractor, this would have been far beyond his reach.  In contrast, the total cost of the disc degeneration repair he received in India was a $25,000 price tag that considerably lightened his financial burden as well as the pressure on his back!  Add to that the pleasure of visiting exotic locales or relaxing on a beach in sunny Goa as part of the recovery process, and you’ve got a health vacation experience that you won’t soon forget. 

The Safety Aspect of Medical Tourism

Potential candidates for medical tourism often have concerns about the safety of going abroad for medical treatment, particularly for critical procedures.  As Dr Hedge pointed out, “When single disc replacement surgery is complicated, imagine replacing four.  Even a slight mistake can lead to complete paralysis or even [the] death of the patient.” For this reason, it is important to conduct a thorough background check on the hospital and surgeon selected for the procedure.  Numerous reputable clinics and hospitals host patient testimonials on their Web sites, and tour operators are often a good source of information when selecting a reliable hospital.  Today, insurance companies are considering providing coverage for procedures performed abroad, and some employers are even willing to include such treatments in their medical benefits packages.   The tide is turning in favor of medical tourism.  So long as patients stay well-informed of the potential risks and benefits, it remains a potentially winning proposition for the average individual.