How patients can pay the price for overseas operarations

From dental and cosmetic procedures to orthopaedic and obesity surgery, often heading overseas is the cheapest way either to secure treatment which isn’t funded by the NHS or bypass lengthy waiting lists.

New research by the medical tourism advice site treatmentabroad.com found that the average medical tourist saves in excess of £2,000 by going abroad and a significant number were more than £10,000 better off than if they had paid for private treatment in the UK. The industry has boomed in recent years, but news of the rise is generally accompanied by cautionary tales of what can go wrong when patients put their health in the hands of the lowest bidder.

While consultant surgeon Mike Parker, a spokesperson for the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS), stresses that he’s been to “fantastic” hospitals abroad with facilities that he’d love to see in UK, top notch service is by no means universal. .

“It is more expensive here than abroad and there are many countries that can provide an equally good service at lower cost,” he says. “I have no problem with people who want to go abroad for private surgery if they’ve got some money and they want to spend it in a sensible way. But you need to do your research well.”

A 2007 investigation by Which? found that while 57 per cent of UK patients who had treatment abroad said they were very satisfied with their experience, 18 per cent suffered complications. Some described infections and other problems, including “my tummy tuck that went septic” and following liposuction one patient’s stomach had begun leaking cellulite.

Keith Pollard, managing director of treatmentabroad.com, says research shows satisfaction levels are now higher than they were five years ago and denies foreign medics are somehow a poor relation to British surgeons.

But Mr Parker warns: “The main caveat is that you can have complications after you get back and you then have to scrounge around looking for someone to sort them out - or fly abroad again. Having treatment overseas means there’s no continuity of care once a patient has flown home, as patients don’t have the surgeon who did the original operation looking after them. That’s a very important consideration. I think people sometimes forget that operations can go wrong.”

He says there’s no particular surgery that he’d advise against going abroad for, as long as extensive research showed the surgeon is experienced, well trained and can show good results.

The treatmentabroad.com research found Belgium and Hungary were the most popular destinations for UK medical tourists (16 per cent each), followed by Poland (10 per cent), the Czech Republic (9 per cent) and Turkey (9 per cent).

Hungary was the most popular for dental treatment (chosen by 38 per cent of UK dental travellers), while the top destinations for obesity surgery were Belgium (50 per cent) and the Czech Republic (21 per cent). Spain, Cyprus and the Czech Republic lead the way in providing infertility treatment for UK couples, and Belgium was most popular for cosmetic surgery.

Consultant plastic surgeon Steve Hamilton, a spokesperson for the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), says he’s seen patients who’ve had problems after having surgery abroad.“They’ve flown there, met the surgeon for the first time half an hour before the operation, had it and then flown straight home.

“That’s probably the cheapest way to do it, but if you get a problem and it doesn’t work out the way you want, aside from massive safety issues it can turn out to be very expensive in the end. If you travel abroad, you have to have done your research very thoroughly, and you should have had consultations before the surgery. You should have a specific reason to go to a specific person.”

“Sometimes people need to undergo very complex procedures which are only available abroad., but generally there are many disadvantages to going abroad for treatment. Even with the best will in the world and the most dedicated surgeon in Eastern Europe, if you’re 800 miles away, it’s very hard for them to assess you or reassure you.

“If you’re looking for the cheapest plastic surgery, then that will be overseas – but if your reason for going abroad for treatment is price, then it’s probably a false economy.”