Eight years ago, doctors recommended a hip replace-ment for Gene Cunningham, a Prescott Valley Christian missionary worker.
"I just really didn't want to go that route," the 58-year-old Cunningham said.
Compounding his problem was his lack of health insurance.
By the first of this year, however, Cunningham said he was unable to get around his own home without the aid of a cane. He knew he had to do something.
So he went to India to have hip resurfacing surgery and recuperate at a small resort.
This type of medical tourism is gaining in popularity with patients and insurance companies alike. In 2006 an estimated 150,000 Americans received health care overseas and nearly half of the surgeries were medically necessary, says the American Medical Association.
Medical tourism is becoming so popular that the AMA recently weighed in on the subject, issuing nine guiding principles. The principles outline steps for care abroad that patients, employers, insurers and businesses responsible for coordinating overseas travel should voluntarily adhere to.
Cunningham said he organized his trip through a company called Healthbase. He spent $15,000 on a surgery that, if done in the United States, would have cost somewhere between $50,000 to $70,000.
He chose an Indian hospital that did the Birmingham Method of hip resurfacing.
"They leave all of your bone structure, just removing enough to implant a chromium cup in your pelvis and then they put a cap over the femur bone so the cap fits into the cup," Cunningham explained.
The operation - done in February - was so successful, "I'm already walking six miles a day," he said.
His $15,000 paid for round-trip airfare for he and his wife, six days of hospitalization (his wife slept on a bed in his room) and for five days at a beach resort to recuperate.
"It was just wonderful to go someplace and recuperate quietly," Cunningham said.
He added that he had no qualms about getting good medical care in India.
"I'm convinced that their medical standards are on a par with hospitals in this country," Cunningham said.
The help Healthbase gave him organizing his trip was invaluable, Cunningham said.
They arranged for his doctor to forward his X-rays and medical records to India so doctors there could verify that he was a good candidate for the surgery.
Saroja Mohanasundaram, CEO of Healthbase, said the company offers more than 200 medical, cosmetic and dental procedures in 12 countries, including Thailand, Singapore, India, Panama, Costa Rica and Mexico.
"Most of our customers go for major medical surgeries like heart surgery, orthopedic surgery and spinal surgery," Mohanasundaram said.
Most of the hospitals affiliated with Healthbase are accredited by the non-profit Joint Commission International, which is an affiliate of The Joint Commission, the largest accreditor of medical facilities in the United States.
Operations done overseas are not without risk, es-pecially risks involving the combining of surgical procedures with long flights and vacation activities, says the AMA.
"The emergence of medical tourism is in part a response to the rising cost of health care in the U.S., says the AMA.
"We need to address the cost of care in the U.S. and cover the uninsured so that every American who needs health care can get it right here at home," said AMA Board Member Dr. J. James Rohack.
For information about Healthbase, visit its website at www.healthbase.com/hb/pages/hbHomePage.jsp.
For information about medical tourism, including its possible risks, visit http://medicaltourismguide.org.
Contact the reporter at tshultz@prescottaz.com
Reader Comments
Posted: Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Article comment by:
Gandar55
Doesn't the metal on metal cause microscopic metal particles to damage the kidneys?
Curious
Posted: Monday, July 14, 2008
Article comment by:
AMA needs to warn of YRMC
AMA says thier may be risks of surgery overseas what about the risks right here I had to friends that were misdignosed at YRMC and once they got so sick they finaley went to hospitals in phoenix but it was to late for thier treatment to be efective and they passed away. Were is AMA's warinings for YRMC?
Posted: Monday, July 14, 2008
Article comment by:
herget
A balanced albeit brief article. One critical point to note, and possibly the most important reason for going overseas for hip resurfacing is the lack of trained and experienced surgeons in the USA. With the exception of a handful of doctors (clinical trial surgeons), most have less than 100 procedures. It's generally recognized that most failures occur during this "learning curve" period. Also, device mfrs can't pay surgeons to get training with qualified surgeons. This conflict of interest rule has worked against the rapid development of quality hip resurfacing in the USA. If you can't get a surgeon with 500+ procedures, the UK, India and Belgium are still the best places to go, regardless of price.
Posted: Monday, July 14, 2008
Article comment by:
Robbie Neely
While hip resurfacing is available in the United States, it was only approved by the FDA in 2006. What does that mean for patients considering hip resurfacing, which is much less invasive and has a faster recovery time than hip replacement? It means doctors in the US don't have anywhere near the track record of those in places like Belgium and India.
Consider: Through medical tourism facilitator WorldMed Assist (http://www.worldmedassist.com), Maurice Moreau went to Belgium to Dr. De Smet, who'd done over 2100 resurfacings before Maurice arrived. Maurice was quoted $60,000 in the U.S., and had an all-expenses (medical, travel, recuperation, physical therapy) bill of $17,000. While he was there, his surgeon was training a U.S. doctor on the procedure.
Another WorldMed Assist patient, Steve Berg, chose India over Belgium for his hip resurfacing, and had a surgeon with an equally impressive track record, Dr. Malhan. His total trip was $8700 compared with $60,000 quoted here.
Learn more about other orthopedic procedures at http://www.worldmedassist.com/Orthopedic-Surgery-Abroad.htm or http://www.worldmedassist.com/Hip_Resurfacing_Surgery_India.htm
Posted: Monday, July 14, 2008
Article comment by:
Sign of times
Don't blame him. To fix a broken leg in YRMC costs around 10,000 dollars.
