Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Jordan, Israel
  There are many advantages in choosing Malaysia for your private health and medical requirements. Medical charges and hospitalisation costs in Malaysia are very competitive compared to those in many developed countries. Malaysian medical expertise is also ranked among the best in the world.

For example, a normal cardiac bypass surgery (CABG) would cost in the region of USD6,OOO - USD7,OOO whereas a similar operation in the United States could cost up to 14 times more at US$90,000. In Singapore, the average cost would be 65 per cent higher than in Malaysia at US$10,417.¹

Another reason to consider Malaysia is the wide choice of state-of-the-art private medical centres available. These establishments are well-equipped and staffed to serve the healthcare needs of people from all over the world. Medical specialists in the country are highly qualified professionals, and supported by well-trained para-medical staff and sophisticated medical equipment.

In Malaysia, all private medical centres are approved and licensed by the Ministry of Health. Most of the private medical centres have achieved certification for internationally recognised quality standards, for example, MS ISO 9002 or accreditation by the Malaysian Society for Quality of Health (MSQH).

Most private medical centres in Malaysia offer comfortable and well-appointed accommodation, ranging from suites to private rooms for single occupancy or more. Room charges, inclusive of meals, vary between medical centres but remain at an attractive level.

One such Malaysian medical facility which has been at the forefront of medical tourism in the country is the Mahkota Orthopaedic Reconstruction & Limb Lengthening Center located in Mahkota Medical Center, an elite 300 bed private medical center with a full array of subspeciality services and facilities. The Orthopaedic Center is a one-stop center for:

• Correction of bone and joint deformities, eg: knee arthritis with deformity.
• Equalizing limb length discrepancy.
• Correction of non-unions and malunions.
• Reconstruction and Restoration of missing segments of bone.
• Severely comminuted fractures or "Problem Fractures".
• Joint Replacement.
• Arthroscopic Ligament Reconstruction.
  

A bridge between the East and the West for centuries, Singapore is today a vibrant melting pot of ideas, cultures and peoples. Singapore is a city that has evolved uniquely, where age-old traditions and cutting-edge innovations are celebrated, a place brimming with energy and bursting with exciting events. Not only does Singapore strategically located on the trade routes through SE Asia making is a major financial and business center but it also serves as a jump off point for the rest of the region, thus making it a travel and tourist hub.  The city-state has also cultivated a squeaky clean image which strikes a chord with many Westerners and expatriates.

As a leading healthcare services hub in the region, more than 200,000 international patients come to Singapore each year for a whole range of medical care. 

Singapore provides the complete spectrum of healthcare services from primary care such as health screening, to quaternary care services such as organ transplants. Foreign patients also come to Singapore for a broad range of specialist care including cardiology, gynecology, orthopedic Surgery, oncology, otorhinolaryngology, urology, neurosurgery and opthalmology, besides general surgery and general medicine². Whether their needs are basic or complex, patients find assurance in a world-class healthcare system that emphasises safety and pushes the boundaries of excellence.

Another important component of Singapore's world-class healthcare is its excellent pool of medical expertise. Coupled with the first-rate healthcare infrastructure, it attracts growing numbers of international medical professionals, who come here to train, learn, share and network.

As the top convention city in Asia, Singapore plays host to significant numbers of international medical professionals who attend conferences, symposiums and training seminars here each year.

The public health care establishments, managed by the National Healthcare Group (NHG) and the Singapore Health Services (SingHealth) and the numerous private health care establishments provide international patients with the entire range of basic and specialised in-patient and out-patient services. In addition, these hospitals have dedicated service centres that provide a comprehensive range of services to patients from overseas and their family members. These International Patient Service Centres cater exclusively to the needs of international patients. At these one-stop service centres, one can get information on health care establishments and available treatments.


South Africa also draws many cosmetic surgery patients, especially from Europe, and many South African clinics offer packages that include personal assistants, visits with trained therapists, trips to top beauty salons, post-operative care in luxury hotels and safaris or other vacation incentives. Because the South African rand has such a long-standing low rate on the foreign-exchange market, medical tourism packages there tend to be perpetual bargains as well. South Africa’s fine medical reputation however has been steadily growing in stature over the last few years as more and more medical tourists have begun to flock to South Africa to avail themselves of the skills of the country’s surgeons, clinics and hospitals at a fraction of the cost of having the same procedure conducted in their countries of origin. Cost of plastic surgery in South Africa remains 60 percent to 65 percent cheaper than in Britain or the US.³

Although people from all over the globe are coming to South Africa for all kinds of medical procedures, the biggest draw-card continues to be cosmetic surgery, off which breast augmentation is the most popular followed by tummy tucks, rhinoplasty, liposuction and facelifts.  Some of the best Cosmetic/Plastic surgeons in the world have been discovered in South Africa and if the undisputed talents and impeccable reputations of these surgeons don’t immediately convince potential clients that they are placing themselves in some of the safest medical hands in the world, then South Africa’s state-of-the-art medical facilities, in which the procedures are conducted, ultimately do.

World-renowned surgeons and facilities are of course not the only draw-cards when it comes to having a cosmetic procedure or any other medical procedure conducted in South Africa. There is a whole lot more on offer that makes the prospect of surgery in South Africa quite irresistible. After all Bush Safaris, Wine Land Tours, Golf Estate Getaways, Country and Coastal Escapes are all on offer in abundance.

But, if you have any doubts whatsoever concerning your decision to avail yourself of a cosmetic surgery procedure or any other medical procedure for that matter in sunny South Africa, the cost of the entire operation including the recuperation and rejuvenation holiday will undoubtedly be the deciding factor.

Thanks to South Africa’s highly attractive exchange rate, courtesy of the declining value of the SA Rand as compared to other currencies throughout the world, overseas visitors are also happily discovering that all of South Africa’s wonderful surgical attractions are extremely affordable too. A full facelift that would cost $20,000 in the U.S. runs about $1,250 in South Africa.⁴

Groote Schuur Hospital, or GSH, is a Central Hospital which forms part of the Western Cape Provincial Department of Health, is one of the more well known hospitals in South Africa. This is also where the first heart transplant was performed by Dr. Christian Bernard in 1967.




Jordan has become the hub of medical tourism for Arab patients. Patients usually come here for major operations such as open heart surgeries, correction of spinal injuries and cornea transplants. In general, Jordan has a fairly good health infrastructure, particularly in relation to some of the other countries in the Middle East. Jordan’s physicians are highly qualified and many of them are certified with American or French Board or Fellowships from the UK. Consequently, many Arabs who favour Arabic speaking doctors with similar cultural backgrounds flock to Amman for better diagnosis and treatment of their ailments than stay in their home countries. Doctors in the country's highly advanced fields of coronary care and kidney, brain and eye surgeries treat up to 100,000 non-Jordanian Arab patients annually⁵.

To facilitate patient procedures, the Ministry of Health has even set up a promotional bureau in the north and south terminals of the Queen Alia International Airport for arriving patients. The bureau provides groups and individuals with information about hospitals and surgery fees to prevent the exploitation of these patients.




Over the last few years, Israeli hospitals have been treating an increasing number of foreign patients from the countries of the former USSR, Middle East and the Mediterranean Area, and also further away from Europe, Africa and South America. The availability of world-class health-care, excellent health infrastructure and many doctors trained in and/or American board certified gives many foreign patients peace of mind that they are getting the best health-care available anywhere.

Israel's major health centers are second to none. They offer services in all of the major areas of modern medicine and medical research - from transplantation, neurosurgery and oncology to geriatric health and rehabilitation. In TelAviv, the Sourasky Tel Aviv Medical Center, associated with the Sackler school of medicine at Tel Aviv university is one such multispeciality hospital.

Some Israeli hospitals have also pioneered treatments in male and female infertility, in-vitro fertilization and high-risk pregnancies.

Israel would attract a lot more medical tourists than it actually does if it weren't for Israeli-Palestinian violence. But the perception of insecurity is slowly disappearing following the ceasefire that was signed between the two sides in early 2005 and the accompanying drop in violence. As a result, tourist numbers are steadily increasing.

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1 - Source: http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=208
2 - Source: http://app.singaporemedicine.com/asp/new/new0201c.asp?id=881
3 - Source: http://www.traveldailynews.com/new.asp?newid=27041&subcategory_id=69
4 - Source: http://www.udel.edu/PR/UDaily/2005/mar/tourism072505.html
5 - Source: http://www.jordanembassyus.org/03052002007.htm