The Medical Tourist

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We all want to be be perfect: Have an endless stamina, a healthy body and – most importantly – that beautiful face. Unfortunately life is not that simple.

But there is an elegant way out. If you’re out of cash for that surgery, or if your medical insurance doesn’t cover what you need: There is a booming trend called “medical tourism”. An alternative to expensive treatments back home in the West. A haven for medical tourism is Bangkok, Thailand.

Where better to do that bypass, breast augmentation, dental surgery or knee replacement than in Bangkok. There is nothing wrong with becoming a medical traveler. Chances are that you’re even getting better service and care in the Orient than in the West.

First and foremost there is that unmatched attention of the local nurses – yes, Asian nurses have become an export winner. But that is a comfortable side effect. Much more important: The doctors taking care of you have learned their craft at renowned hospitals and universities in the West, mostly in the US and the United Kingdom.

Yes, they speak perfectly well English – another reason not to keep the medical tourist at bay, as communication isn’t a factor at all.

Furthermore, medical equipment is many cases is more modern than at leading hospitals in the West. But not everywhere. In Bangkok there are three hospitals any medical tourist from overseas can trust:

First and foremost the boutique-style Samitivej Hospitals.

Second: The state-of-the-art Bumrungrad Hospital.

Finally: Bangkok International Hospital – which actually belongs to the same owner of Samitivej Hospitals: Mr. Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth, who by the way also owns Bangkok Airways, the airport of Koh Samui and other high profile enterprises.

Now imagine you enter one of those hospitals – yes, you’re welcomed by that same clinical smell that prevails in hospitals around the world. But all the same: That smell is more elaborate.

In the huge reception hall of Samitivej Hospital Sukhumvit for example a pianist recites Beethoven and Mozart. You may want to dine in the hospital’s very own Italian restaurant or simply enjoy a stroll through the ground floor’s delicious Bistro.

All three of the mentioned hospitals look more like five star hotels than hospitals. There are book shops – even a McDonald’s at Bumrungrad – and all three were awarded the highest international accreditations of the industry.

And, yes, that niche market of “Sex and the City … Thai-Style” is also catered for. Says expert Josef Woodman, who published Patients Beyond Borders – a guide to affordable, world-class medical tourism.”

No discussion of health care in Thailand would be complete,” writes Woodman, “without at least a mention of sex change treatments (or “genital reassignment surgery” (GSA), in the medical vernacular). Difficult to obtain in the US without a good deal of red tape, sex reassignment treatment options are probably more available in Bangkok than anywhere else on the planet,” Wooodman writes.

“Women can choose from a reproductive smorgasbord ranging from vaginoplasty (a rejuvenative tightening of the vagina) to full female-to-male gender reassignment; men are offered single or full orchiectomies (testicle removal), penile-width enhancement, penile lengthening, and full male-to-female gender reassignment.”

Woodman warns though: “Partially because of Bangkok’s well-publicized sex industry, hundreds of sex change clinics have seized on Thailand’s recent successes in medical travel, and many prey on the vulnerable. Thus, as with any other medical procedure, patients should conduct careful investigations, including thourough reference checks and redoubled research on clinic accreditation and physical experience.”

Genital surgery is that common in Bangkok, that once in the district of Thonburi, when I happened to visit a small local clinic, I happened to see the clinic’s “menu” on the reception desk.

The last and most expensive item on the menu set you back some 50,000 baht, the equivalent of some 1,500 U.S. dollars today. That item was a gender change. Available down the road in that small inconspicuous clinic.

Whatever medical surgery or treatment: In Bangkok it can be done at highest standards and fair prices. A coronary artery bypass graft or a valve replacement costs around 12,000 dollars, a knee replacement 10,000 dollars, dental cleaning 25 dollars. Expect to pay at least three times as much in the West.

The flight to Bangkok may be long, but you will be rewarded. Or you may just happen to be in Bangkok. Get yourself some spare time and get that medical checkup tailored to the Western patient done.

A variety of tests and examination packages are offered at prices well below fees in the West.

At least get those teeth cleaned and the cavity fixed.

The whole global economy is doing it. Why don’t you “outsource” your body and find a doctor abroad.

A more serious treatment such as a cardiovascular or an orthopedic one may very well safe you money to pay for another holiday.

Or finally you can buy that car, the new DSLR camera – or the diamond for your wife. Smiling with those shiny teeth polished in Thailand.

And best of all: Beware, chances are high that you’ll be back.




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September 19, 2007 | Filed Under Health, Body & Mind, Travel & Tourism 

Comments

4 Responses to “The Medical Tourist”

  1. Angie on June 20th, 2009 2.28 am

    Medical treatment in Thailand is far better and affordable than in the West. I had a good experience getting a lap band procedure done in Thailand. Initially I was a little apprehensive but once I landed at the hospital, the experience turned out really well. The doctors were very professional and the infrastructure was impressive. I took help from folks at http://www.thaimedihealth.com and they helped me arrange the treatment and stay in Bangkok. Its been seven months now and I look great. I wish the doctors and the staff success. I look forward to revisiting Phuket and Bangkok.

  2. stefan on June 20th, 2009 7.19 am

    It’s all good until you understand the education system … then your trust would be misplaced … certainly regarding diagnosis … you gets what you pays for, and at your own risk.

  3. JJ on June 20th, 2009 8.55 am

    Lot of pros and cons.

    The doctors at this level though are not part of the local education system, they’ve done their degrees abroad – and work with more modern equipment at Bangkok’s top hospitals than at comparable hospitals in the West.

    Or take Thai dentists, they’re simply outstanding at the better dental clinics.

  4. stefan on June 20th, 2009 2.29 pm

    Playing doctors: I recently read a dentist’s diploma on the reception wall while waiting for some fillings. It read something like Certification by American Dental Association, The Marquette University School of Dentistry and when I asked him in english where he graduated, I realized that he could hardly understand english. Eventually he revealed that he graduated at the Faculty of Dentistry, Chiangmai University. I wondered about the diploma on the wall. Dan, it is a fallacy to assume all medical training is undertaken abroad. One might end up being “undertaken” sooner than bargained for in Thailand.

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