Medical tourists opting for sea, sand, sun and surgery

When a friend returned from holiday recently looking remarkably refreshed, I couldn't help but wonder whether her newfound radiance was simply the result of relaxation, or if she hadn't had a sly fix of Botox. I would never ask, of course. Just as she would never freely admit it.

Travelling abroad for a cosmetic or medical treatment is attractive precisely because of the privacy it offers and - depending on the destination and procedure - the chance to holiday at the same time. Whether it be rhinoplasty, a new set of teeth or remedy for a serious illness, waking up at a five-star hotel on a beach somewhere beats scurrying to the local grocery store, fearful of bumping into the office gossip.

"Sometimes patients' faces can be fairly badly bandaged up and they don't really want to go out in public," says John Sutherland, CEO of Dreamscape Journeys, a specialist company that offers tours in the emerging medical tourism destination of Hua Hin, Thailand.

Sutherland's firm works with Bangkok Hospital, which attracts 38 per cent of its patients from abroad. Of these, about 55 per cent are from the Middle East. In April last year, the Thai hospital opened an outpost in the coastal resort of Hua Hin, a two-hour drive from the capital. Once frequented by royals and wealthy Thais, it is home to some of Asia's top resorts and golf courses, offering visitors sun and leisure activities and, even more importantly, a sense of privacy that would be impossible in tourism hot spots such as Phuket. Many of Sutherland's clients are groups of friends who mix "bits and bobs" of cosmetic surgery with the opportunity to travel, he says.

"The reason I started [working] in Hua Hin was because I spoke to a lot of women, 40s plus, who felt they would be more comfortable going somewhere in a group but they didn't want to sit around a hotel room somewhere in a city, recovering.

"They really don't have to go and do anything [post surgery]. They can just sit by the pool [in Hua Hin] or walk on the beach, and they're never bothered."

Dreamscape Journeys offers tailor-made "lifetime experiences" that might include travel by private jet to Hua Hin, a luxury villa, a personal chef and concierge service, post-surgery health and wellness programmes at the nearby Chiva Som and Six Senses resorts, and shopping trips to Bangkok.

"Many Middle East clients also treat it as a shopping trip but my programme is appealing to people who want to spend time at a relaxing beachfront destination while recuperating," Sutherland says.

Personal introductions to senior hospital staff and consultations with surgeons can also be arranged. "The surgeons used for cosmetic surgery are well known; some have spent most of their careers practicing in countries such as the USA. They have performed thousands of breast implant operations and facial reconstructions."

Medical tourism has emerged as the cost of private healthcare in first-world countries, including the US, UK, Canada and Australia, has skyrocketed, making both cosmetic and more vital medical procedures in India, Thailand, South Africa and South America more attractive.

In Thailand, for example, facelifts and breast enhancements normally cost around US$4,000 (Dh14,700), half the price of what they would cost in the US.

"While we target cosmetic surgery patients, coronary artery bypass operations can cost as much as $88,000 (Dh323,300) in the US but in Thailand they are quoted at around $23,000 (Dh84,500)," Sutherland says. "Hip replacements in the US are around $33,000 (Dh121,000) but in Thailand they cost $13,000 (Dh47,800), so there's a great incentive for people to travel."

Source - thenational.ae