I am NOT a doctor nor a medically trained professional; all things mentioned in this piece come from MY personal experience with Health Care abroad and should NOT be taken as complete or legal medical advice
Anyone whose been following my nomadic journey knows that I’m no stranger to hospitals abroad.
From my first medical procedure in Brazil of 2013, to random mishaps here and there, I’ve learned first hand that seeking medical attention abroad isn’t as scary as some may think.
This past week, I had my first elective Medical Tourism surgery abroad. Your girl got LASIK here in Medellin and the experience was everything I hoped it would be and more! That being said, it was definitely not a decision I made lightly and there were for sure some minor highs and lows. I wanted to throw together a few tips to take into account when considering whether or not pursuing a medical procedure abroad is the right move for you!
5 Tips for Medical Tourism
Evaluate the specifics of what you’re getting done and perform a thorough and honest risk vs reward analysis
When considering a foreign doctor for your medical tourism experience, its essential to remember that not all procedures are created equally. What does this mean? Different mindsets should be leveraged when considering a Botox injection as opposed to say, an experimental stem cell treatment. While no medical procedure is completely without risk, there are a range of factors that should be considered when making this decision.
Essentially: What is the RISK of COMPLICATION and What is the estimated RECOVERY TIME?
Take the time to think about the positive impact that having this procedure done will have on your life and run that against the relative risk of the procedure in general…then again abroad.
For me, not having perfect vision was something in the back of my mind for YEARS. It was getting to the point where my decisions to go out or stay home and my comfort in new environments were directly linked to my vision; what was my access to glasses? how much energy did I have to force my eyes that day to try and stand contacts? This procedure in the states was quoted to me at $5,0000 USD ($2,500 per eye). In Medellin, I paid a total of $750 USD from Pre-Op through 3 Years worth of follow up appointments. The reward for getting LASIK was incredibly high for my unique experience and unique needs. Only you know your own metrics for this but do not skimp on this step.
2. Be realistic: about your physical health AND your language skills
If you have pre-existing medical issues, the risk of complications may be negatively impacted. People with medical problems, such as prior heart attacks or strokes, high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, should pay special attention if considering a procedure that requires general anesthesia. Additionally, the more complicated your medical history or the procedure, the more dynamic language skills you’re going to need to effectively communicate with your health care staff on the front end. On the CDC’s website, regarding Medial tourism, they remind: ‘Communication may be a challenge. Receiving care at a facility where you do not speak the language fluently might increase the chance that misunderstandings will arise about your care.’
I experienced this first hand when, despite my years of formal Spanish and my Portuguese fluency, I had so many misunderstandings with staff along various stages of the process. Though my surgeon was completely bi-lingual, I had to speak with security guards, reception desk workers/schedulers, an Ophthalmologist, and OR techs, none of whom spoke any English. I had a few misunderstandings around the timeline between my exams vs. the actual surgery and my vision test took twice as long, as I had to quickly recall the Spanish alphabet. In the end, the combination of my ‘Spanish skills’ and the relative simplicity of my procedure came together to create a rather frictionless experience. Had I been purely monolingual, I don’t know if the process would have been the same.
3. Know your Tribe & Tap into your network
For even the most basic and straight forward of procedures, you’re probably going to want to have someone there to help you get home afterwards or to be an local contact should any complications arise. Many clinics will require you to bring someone to accompany you to and from the procedure and will make them sign some legal forms so, sorry, no Taskrabbit or ‘Rappi Favor’ drivers can help you out here. If you’re straight up alone in the country you’re considering a procedure in, definitely see if someone in your network has a friend who can help you out. Do your part to have all the information upfront that someone will need, in order for them to evaluate if they’ll be able to help you out (Time expectation, location of procedure, etc). Go above and beyond to minimize the inconvenience like offering to pay for any/all fees they incur (transportation, food if its a long procedure) and divvying up the ask if it requires a particularly long procedure or multiple sessions.
4. Take Your Time
The time between my learning that LASIK in Medellin was an option and actually getting my procedure was 2 years! Its not that it took me 2 years to make the decision but I did wait for the perfect intersection between confidence in my decision and convenience with my lifestyle. Sometimes we can be so excited about the ‘idea’ of something that it clouds our judgement. If you learn on a Monday that this thing that seemed a distant dream can actually be yours in 2 days, you may be tempted to immediately pull the trigger BUT resist these urges. Even for the simplest of procedures, surgery is still surgery and these decisions should never be rushed. If its meant to be, the opportunity will be there when the time is right. Trust in that and give yourself the time and space to make sure you’re making the best decision for you and your body.
5. Be confident in your decision
Once you’ve done your home work, made the call, and are set to embark on your journey, its time to OWN it and be confident in your decision. There will ALWAYS be people with so many opinions about health care (or anything for that matter…) not POSSIBLY being on par any where outside of the US. Fun Fact: The United States of America ranks 27th in the world for Health Care and Education. I’m just going to let that sink in for a sec. As a mentioned before, surgery is surgery and you WILL be putting your body through a ‘trauma’ by the simplest definition. Surround your self with quality people and good vibes and theres no way the high vibes won’t help contribute to a speedy and complication free recovery!
Have you had your own experience with Medical Tourism? Any tips you’d also like to share? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below and lets keep the conversation going!