HealthAbroad.net: Point of View

Nice article in the International Herald Tribune on the mushrooming of low cost and discount airlines across Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. 

Air travel by being made afforadable and accessible has facilitated the movement of people, ideas and money - all pre-requisites for better business and price competitiveness. It has also forced state run and heaviy subsidized airlines to shake off their complacency, compete and offer better services to their customers or perish. Mediocrity has no takers beyond a point.

So where does medical tourism come in? The article starts off with the story of an American author who was in India last year to research for his book on medical tourism and came away with a favourable impression of the low cost airline(s) he used to crisscross the country.  

The airlines industry and medical tourism are inextricably linked. The former moves people - now at much lower costs to consumer than before, from which the latter benefits greatly. It would perhaps be a bit of a stretch to say that the low-cost airlines have spawned the medical tourism industry but they have helped in its growth in no small measure. Read our previous posts about this relationship here.

More on Argentina being a top destination for cut price good quality plastic surgery.

A breast implant surgery costs $2500 in Argentina whereas it can be three times as much in Los Angeles, Madrid or Paris. A high local demand for plastic surgery also means that the  doctors are well trained and competent. Even today, as much as 60 percent of all procedures are done on Argentinians.

Argentina’s stormed up the list of medical destinations after the peso was devalued in 2001 making travel and surgery a steal.

Read our previous posts on Argentina and plastic surgery here and here and also the one on Brazil.

Came across this ABC News clip on youtube on the growth in medical tourism to low cost destinations across the world.

The Guardian recently published an article on the boom in medical tourism in Argentina. The country, given its cultural richness and staggering biodiversity, has always held great allure for tourists. The Argentinian penchant for cosmetic surgery and the social acceptance of it has created a huge domestic market, which smart entrepreneurs are turning around to attract foreign travelers as well.

Since 2002, when the local currency peso was devalued, tourist numbers have increased year on year by around 10%, with the country being particularly popular with British tourists. An increasing number of British tourists are coming for plastic surgery available at low cost.

However, cost is not the only driving force with Argentina’s cosmetic surgeons being one of the best in the world. The domestic demand for breast implants, nip and tuck treatments has helped hone the skills of medical professionals in the country. Add to that the jaw dropping beauty of the country with its virgin forests and vistas, snow capped mountains and bucolic beauty, the country has a lot going for it.

Although no accredition system exists for private clinics in Argentina, individual surgeons are required to obtain a medical licence to operate.  Here are some prices for medical tourism packages procured through a third party adency- abdomen liposuction at $1000, penis enlargement at $2500 and a full gastric bypass surgery can be had for $12500. Prices include hotel accomodation, airport transfers and travel advice. English speaking personal assistants are assigned to patients for the length of their stay.

Fantastic article in The Guardian on the growth in nip and tuck tourism in South America and how Brazil is gaining ascendancy in the field. Considering how little is written about the medical tourism industry in South America, this is a much needed article. Having spent time in Peru, I can vouch for the fact that medical tourism is already massive and growing in South American countries particularly Argentina, Brazil and some Central American nations. Why they loose out in coverage is possibly due to the language barrier as a result of which the local media machinery does not feed into the mainstream English language media.

“For decades Brazil has been considered a thriving centre for cosmetic surgery, and it is now at the heart of a growing wave of surgery tourism, with foreigners jetting in for a few days on the cutting board and a week’s recuperation on the beach. After the United States, home to 5,000 registered cosmetic surgeons, Brazil comes in a close second, with around 4,000.”

The Brazilian culture of sun, sand and samba and a general acceptance of plastic surgery in society, means that there is a thriving domestic market for cosmetic surgery. According to the article, although figures are hard to come by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery says that Brazil is not too far behind the $12.4 billion Americans spent on plastic surgery in 2005.

With the increasing popularity of cosmetic surgery in Brazil and aided by the advent of new techniques such as “minimal incision” and “less invasive” operations, “walk-in clinics are starting to democratise access to cosmetic surgery.”

Brazil has had a headstart on the US in terms of new techniques for cosmetic surgery. For example, silicone breat implants, outlawed in the US for 10 years, have been used in Brazil since 1993.

The article winds up with a list of the new procedures being practiced in Brazil.

Threadlift- The new walk-in answer to a facelift. Making a small incision around the temple with local anaesthetic, the surgeon implants a series of threads, tightening loose skin. The operation takes about an hour and is said to be like having a tiny “umbrella” opened under your skin.

Liposelection- Brother of liposuction, which uses ultrasound to reshape knees, buttocks, hips and “male breasts”. The unwanted fat is liquefied and removed causing, it is claimed, “minimal pain, swelling and bruising”.

Internal bras- Developed in Brazil since 1988, the internal bra is part of the new wave of “minimal scar” surgery. The surgeon implants a small piece of gauze under the skin, which lifts the breast as if the patient was permanently wearing a bra.

Jet peel skin rejuvenation- Skin rejuvenation promises to “pressure wash” your skin in a series of quick, “virtually painless” sessions. Regular “maintenance” sessions are required so as not to lose “skin clarity” its makers say.

To the international audience, Argentina has for long been well known for football, tango, high quality beef, beautiful women and relatively less known for cosmetic surgery. When I was in Peru in 2004, I found that some men would colloquially refer to urbane Argentine women as “Barbie Dolls” for their undeniably enchanting cocktail of European and South American features coupled with a terrific sense of style but somewhat disparagingly for their plastic-like (sometimes altered) facial and physical attributes.

In Argentina, there exists a massive domestic market for cosmetic surgery and going under the scalpel is quite accepted in society. So it came as no surprise to read an article in The Post and Courier, on the boom in nip-tuck tourism in Argentina, pegged to the visit of a 59 year old retired airplane employee to Buenos Aires for a hair replacement treatment.

The industry which till now primarily catered to domestic demand is now increasingly courting foreign patients, who are eager to take advantage of a devalued peso to get everything from tummy tucks to hair transplants to dental work and fertility treatment. According to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery’s most recent figures used in the article, “Argentina ranks third in the world for cosmetic procedures, roughly 50,000 a year, trailing only Mexico and the US.” In additon, most North Americans find relative comfort in the cultural likeness of upscale Buenos Aires to their own environment back home. Medical visits are  also being made attractive by offers of private tango lessons, visits to Patagonia, Iguazu waterfalls and the wine country of Mendoza.

However, cost continues to be the major factor. Procedures in Argentina tend to be about a third to half the cost in the United States. According to figures provided by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), while the cost of liposuction in the US is $2,223, the same costs $1,200 in Argentina, hotel stay included. Breasts implants cost about $2100 in Argentina compared to $3,373 in the US.  

As is the case with the growth of medical tourism the world over, some doubts remain. Last month, a 27 year old American student died following complications from liposuction. Skeptics also point to the difficulty in follow-up care once the patient leaves the country. There have been numerous cases of plastic surgery having gone horribly wrong, sometimes with fatal consequences. Thus, it becomes very important to check qualifications and experience levels of the operating team or if need be, going through an established medical company as opposed to a fly-by-night operator offering runaway discounts.