FANCY A tummy tuck in Turkey? Or hip surgery, a facelift or extensive dental treatment in one of the increasing number of countries across Europe and beyond where you can combine a holiday with healthcare at low prices?
At the world’s biggest global showcase World Travel Market in London late last year, “new kids on the block” Serbia and Cyprus were highlighting medical tourism developments. They are keen to catch up with other countries including neighbouring Bulgaria, Turkey and Hungary which have been successfully tapping into the market for dental treatment and the one created by waiting lists for medical procedures.
You might imagine that in these hard times medical tourism would be in the doldrums too. Yet the reverse appears to be the case, although a downturn in demand for non-urgent procedures, especially in the dental and cosmetic surgery areas, is evident.
As our western European population ages, putting more pressure on private insurers and national health services, the demand for medical tourism, especially for more complex operations, will enjoy “healthy” growth, according to Emin Cakmak, chairman of Turkey’s Healthcare Tourism Development Council.
“The ever increasing cost of treatment in developed nations has spurred new demand – quality treatment at a low cost with an added taste of tourism,” Cakmak said on a visit to London to promote new facilities such as TrueBeam, the new radiotherapy technology in cancer treatment at Neolife Oncology Centre, Turkey.
At the crossroads between East and West, Turkey is rapidly expanding its private medical infrastructure. It has already invested $20 billion (€15.2 billion)and has ambitious future investment plans to capitalise on demand for much more complex procedures in the field of cardiovascular interventions, transplantation, neurosurgeries, oncology and orthopedic cases.
“We have been getting 2,000-3,0000 Irish a year coming to Turkey for dental treatment and eye surgery but the economic downturn means there is a postponement of the non-urgent procedures for now. Initially the medical tourism catered for those seeking lower cost alternatives to selective procedures, mostly cosmetic, but there is an increasing trend now towards more complicated procedures.”
A decision in the UK to introduce VAT on plastic surgery carried out for aesthetic rather than therapeutic purposes, including breast enlargements, liposuction and tummy tucks, is welcome news for countries in middle and Eastern Europe. The UK treasury hopes to squeeze up to £500 million (€603 million) a year from the cosmetic surgery industry. As a result, the cost of plastic surgery in Britain is set to increase substantially, to the benefit of the emerging medical tourism markets in countries such as Poland and, more recently, Serbia, where all-inclusive tummy tuck and breast-lift holiday packages are available for a fraction of the price.
Research by whatclinic.comand revahealth.com, which gather and provide information on medical tourism and future trends to Irish patients, shows a shift away from teeth whitening and veneers to implants, crowns and bridges in 2010. In addition, there was a reduction in market share for dental and cosmetic surgery inquiries, while fertility clinics abroad were the biggest winners. Based on inquiries throughout that year it seems Botox remains "the queen" of cosmetic beauty treatments, and breast reductions in both women and men have become more common. There is also increased interest in liposuction.
One of the newer destination countries for fertility treatment and an established centre of excellence for cosmetic surgery, Cyprus, as a member of the EU, is set to benefit from the new EU directive in cross-border health care, which entitles patients to cross-border healthcare that they don’t have already at home.
The directive will not be implemented for some time but the industry believes it will provide a further stimulus for medical tourism and the creation of “joined-up healthcare”in years to come. Countries such as Cyprus would then benefit considerably.
The island already has a reputation for providing quality medical treatment and value for money and there is the added allure of its beautiful beaches, antiquity and Mediterranean climate.
Whether the medical tourist can properly enjoy a holiday after some forms of treatment is debatable. Those undergoing cosmetic surgery may be told to stay off the beach and out of the sun for a few weeks, and if you have just had a mouth full of implants inserted, will you be up for enjoying the local food, wine and sightseeing?
Russell Stenhouse, a London-based media executive, says he was having a night out in Belgrade when one of his crowns fell out, so he experienced Serbian dental tourism without any prior plans to do so. “ My new crown was perfect, it cost only £60 and I was hugely impressed by the high standard of dentistry, so I immediately booked in for more treatment,” he says.
Serbian medical tourism promoter Jelina Duricanin has put together combined treatment and tourism packages for the Panoramic Travel group, taking visitors around Belgrade and beyond into scenic countryside and to historic landmarks. Serbia, she says, is drawing on its traditions as a centre for alternative therapies and it is especially advanced in the treatment of orthopedic, respiratory and skin disorders.
HOW SAFE IS SURGERY ABROAD?
That was the question uppermost in the mind of Marie O’Brien* who did considerable research into cosmetic surgery and in the end opted to stay in Ireland and spend over €9,000 on a facelift three years ago.
“I knew the countries considered the most safe which also had much lower prices for cosmetic surgery than at home, but I did not want to leave Ireland in case of complications. I am a nurse so I was aware of the risks of going “under the knife” and I knew I would look battered and bruised and would hardly be in the mood to go wandering around beaches looking like the victim of a mugging.”
In fact, there were complications, despite her choice of a top surgeon and a highly recommended private clinic in Ireland. Following nearly five hours of surgery, Marie had to undergo surgery a second time. “When the bandages came off the morning after surgery I knew something was wrong by the look on the surgeon’s face. There was a massive haematoma behind my left ear because the drain had come out in the night. It might have been put in badly or I somehow loosened it by turning my head but I had to be operated on again and that huge blood clot was sucked out.
“Luckily, everything was fine after that and within six weeks I was back at work, and people said I looked great.”
(*Name has been changed)
