Bruce Willis plastic surgery in New Delhi, India - Popularity Of Medical Tourism
I have always heard of foreigners coming to India for cheap medical procedures like heart surgery, knee transplants, cosmetic and dental surgery, but this one is just too funny -
John Joseph Conway a 43 year old firefighter from America visited Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi with a photo of Bruce Willis. He said he wanted to look the part of a firefighter and wished for a nice strong jaw line like Bruce Willis. This, he said would fit his macho image of a fire fighter. Dr Vivek Kumar was on the team of doctors who operated on John Joseph Conway after studying his face for three days.
The surgery was conducted at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and lasted three hours. It costed 1,600 American dollars which was one tenth of the cost charged for the same surgical procedure in the United States of America.
Every years thousands of foreign nationals come to India for medical tourism. This medical tourism package involves a holiday package to tourist places and the cost of the medical procedure. Medical tourism holiday destinations include trips to places like Rajasthan, Kerala, Taj Mahal in Agra, beach resorts of Goa and Karnataka and wildlife adventures.
A few hospitals in India with well trained staff and world class facilities offer medical tourism packages. These are the All India Institute Of Medical Sciences - AIIMS, Apollo Hospital and Escorts Heart Institute and Research Center in Delhi, B M Birla Heart Research Center, Christian Medical College in Vellore, Tata Memorial Hospital, PD Hinduja National Hospital in Mumbai, Apollo Cancer Hospital in Chennai, Indraprastha Medical Corporation and Institute Of Cardiovascular Diseases.
Most of the doctors in these hospitals have done part of their education or training in foreign countries. As these hospitals are operated by private companies, the medical facilites are extremely exorbitant and unaffordable for a majority of Indians. However, foreign tourists from countries like USA, Britain and United Arab Emirates would find medical tourism in India quite cheap because of the high value of their currency.
Dental Plans include Smile designing, Metal Free Bridge, Dental Implants, Porcelain Metal Crown, Root canals, Tooth whitening and Tooth cleaning. Costs are approximately half of what they cost in the United States. Eye Treatments like laser eye surgery, Lasik Refractive Packages and Lasik Eye Surgery in India costs as much as 8 to 10 percent less than they do in the USA or UK.
Heart Care programs include treatment of problems like Valvular diseases, Arrhythmias, coronary artery disease, Hypercholesterolemia, Family history of coronary disease, Hypercholesterolemia and Heart disease symptoms. Some procedures that are available at the above mentioned medical tourism centers are directional coronary atherectomy, rotablation, coronary artery stenting, intravascular ultrasound, balloon valvuloplasty and non-surgical closure of holes in the heart. They usually cost 50 percent less in India.
A heart care surgery which costs something around $30,000 in USA can cost only about $8,000 in India. A few Surgical treatment holiday packages offered include Cardiac Surgery, Cardiology, Open Heart Surgery, Angiographies, Angioplasties, Paediatric Cardiac Surgery, Paediatric Intervention nnd Cardiology Robotic Surgery. Some popular heart tourism hospitals are The Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology in Bangalore, the Cardiology Hospital in Kanpur, the Heart Hospital in Calicut and the Sree Sudihindra Medical Mission Hospital in Cochin.
Cosmetic surgery is what most international medical tourists come to India for. Cosmetic surgery includes hair restoration and implants, rhinoplasties or nose jobs, face lifts, demabrasions, chin and cheek enlargement, breast surgery and reconstruction and liposuction. This is all available at a fraction of the cost in America or UK at the best of facilites.
Orthopaedic surgery like hip and knee replacement, the Illizarov technique, limb lengthening, Birmingham Hip resurfacing technique, minimal invasive surgery, cartilage and bone transplantation, bone marrow transplantation, spine surgery like fixation, stabilization and fusion are regularly treated. Other medical problems like Arthiritis, sports injuries, complex broken bones, bone tumors and scoliosis are also cured.
Other than this a wide variety of medical tests can be done at cheap rates in India. Some unscrupulous private hospitals also arrange for illegal transplants like kidney and liver. Though this is not legitimate no one gets caught cause everyone pays a bribe. This is quite sad as many poor people are forced to sell their organs or are kidnapped and murdered for their organs so that rich foreigners can benefit.
These medical treatments usually have a waiting period of around nine to twelve months in America, Britain or Europe whereas in India there is no waiting period. Just arrive any day and have the job of your choice done.
One thing I want to mention, is that medicine has become a big business. Many doctors say that you are sick and need big operations just to make big bucks on the operation. Always take a second or third opinion and try traditional medicine first before deciding to go for any surgery. The damage caused by surgery is irreversible and can lead to complications later in life. Don't let a single doctor convince you that you are sick and need expensive treatments, unless there is concrete proof from different sources.
What do you think of medical tourism in India ?
