Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Pros and Cons to Weight Loss Surgery in Mexico
It is a part of our responsibility as future healthcare providers to be informed on trending healthcare procedures, so we can have informative discussions with patients in our future practice. To avoid expensive surgeries that most often U.S health insurances won’t cover, many U.S citizens have chosen to have surgeries done abroad. Oftentimes, due to lower wages and lower cost to the same surgical equipment, Mexico is the top choice. Weight loss surgeries include lap band, gastric sleeve, and gastric bypass surgeries. A lap band is a silicone band place around the hiatal end of the stomach, designed and adjusted to limit food intake. This device is connected to a port that is placed under the skin for future adjustment accessibility. A gastric sleeve procedure is the removal of about 80% of the stomach, leaving behind a tube-shaped stomach about the size of a banana, and is a powerful weight loss method. Gastric bypass includes the rejoining of the hiatal end of the stomach to the jejunum of the small intestines, bypassing the stomach, and duodenum of the small intestine. A lap band procedure can cost from $3,000-$6,500 in Mexico compared to $9,000-$22,000 in the U.S. A gastric sleeve procedure can cost $4,000-$9,000 in Mexico and in the U.S prices can range from $10,000-$31,500. A gastric bypass surgery can cost $6,500-$11,000, and the U.S cost comparison at $19,000-$35,000. Included in these cost estimates is anesthesia, medications before and after the procedure, operating room costs, preoperative evaluations, dietary guideline instruction, transportation, and follow up care for the lap band procedure. The largest concern for most people interested in surgery abroad is the doubt in finding a highly-skilled surgeon, which is very possible if you know how to look. Most complications occur from lap band surgery in both short term and long-term complications, and cause malfeasance to the patient. Overall, the cost alone could motivate someone to seek surgery abroad, and the relative skill of surgeons that can be found in Mexico is comparable to surgeons in the states, which is considered beneficence to the patient. In contrast, patients give up legal rights when they travel abroad for surgery and things go south during the procedure, no pun intended. The support patients have post surgery might be better if their procedure is done in the U.S. but if a patient is confident they can control themselves to strict dietary changes without external aid, they could potentially save thousands of dollars in Mexico.
Average Cost of Gastric Bypass Surgery. (2017, October 03). Retrieved from https://www.obesitycoverage.com/insurance-and-costs/how-much/average-laparoscopic-gastric-bypass-prices
Average Cost of Lap Band Surgery. (2017, October 03). Retrieved from https://www.obesitycoverage.com/insurance-and-costs/how-much/average-lap-band-prices
Prices for gastric sleeve surgery by state. (2017, October 03). Retrieved from https://www.obesitycoverage.com/insurance-and-costs/how-much/average-cost-of-gastric-sleeve-surgery/gastric-sleeve-cost-2015/
Weight Loss Surgery In Mexico – A Candid Look. (2018, January 09). Retrieved from https://www.obesitycoverage.com/weight-loss-surgery-in-mexico-a-candid-look/
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The price difference between the United States and many other countries for surgeries is astonishing. In 2008, my family travelled to Costa Rica for a relaxing family vacation. During this vacation, we decided to go zip-lining through the rainforest canopy. Long story short, a leaf ended up scratching my brother’s eye, and he had to have emergency eye surgery in Costa Rica. My parents were very wary about having the surgery done, but it was a necessity. After the surgery, they only paid between $1,000 and $1,500 for the surgery. In the United States this surgery would have cost over $20,000. I remember my brother and parents staying in San Jose for just one night, and they never saw the surgeon again. Upon returning to the States my parents immediately began looking for an eye surgeon to ensure the healing process was going well. The eye surgeon in the States said that the surgeon in Costa Rica did a magnificent job. All in all, my brother still has perfect vision, despite the eye surgery.
ReplyDeleteAlthough this was not a weight loss surgery like you mentioned above, but it is still a surgery that was performed in another country. The surgeon only saw my brother for the surgery, then once the next morning for a check-up, but after that we didn’t see her again. So, it seems pretty common to only see the surgeon for a short amount of time, which is different than the United States.
I have also heard a lot of horror stories about patients traveling to other countries for procedures due not only to avoiding insurance barriers and high medical costs in the US but also to avoid some of the guidelines placed to actually protect patients in the American healthcare system. There have been cases of individuals, particularly those suffering from body dysmorphia, who did not meet the criteria for a gastric bypass here in the states. In other words, they were not fat enough to get the procedure; so they end up going to Mexico to get the procedure done and risk complications.
ReplyDeleteThe advances made in noninvasive procedures in recent years could certainly curtail this trend of traveling outside of the country for surgery. In fact, clinical trials for the first ever completely procedure-less gastric balloon for weight loss were conducted at CU Anschutz Medical Campus earlier this year. The balloon is swallowed in a capsule in an outpatient visit and remains in the stomach for about four months and then proceeds to pass naturally from the body. This is revolutionary for the obesity epidemic in the US with the pilot clinical study resulting in an average weight loss of 15% total body weight and improvements in triglycerides, HbA1c (an important indicator for type 2 diabetes), and quality of life. Technological advancements such as this one will become more prominent in years to come and will certainly have an effect on various aspects of patient care in the US, including seeking alternative treatments in foreign countries.
Here's the link about the gastric balloon trials at CU!
Deletehttps://www.cuanschutztoday.org/trial-commencing-elipse-balloon/?utm_source=CUAT-Fri-Feb-16-2018&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CUAnschutzToday&utm_content=New-weight%E2%80%91loss-trial-starts-for-Elipse-Balloon