The prices are frequently very compelling in medical tourism (e.g. going to Mexico, India, Turkey, etc. for medical procedures) but the risks are much more difficult to quantify.
What is the best way to identify these types of risks (other than just following the news)?
In early 2023, a rare but deadly form of meningitis began appearing across the United States, especially among patients who had undergone cosmetic surgery at two clinics in Matamoros, Mexico, a city across the border from Texas.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a notice to alert doctors in May, and they began finding dozens of confirmed and probable cases across the U.S., especially in Texas, as well as in Mexico. Patients who had been to the two clinics were notified that they may have been exposed to the fungus.
There is as much risk here in the US as I have found abroad. Many years ago a doctor in Virginia compounded my back issues with his surgery…went to a doctor recommended in Mexico City and he fixed my back, about 35 years ago, no issues since. I recently had an implant gone very bad that I received in the US, caused me all sorts of grief and a lot of infection. Just returned from Colombia where I got excellent dental care and they cleaned up the infection, will be going back for implants. I’m an American, born and raised, but unfortunately Americans seem to live with the idea that we have the best…that really is relative to the doctor and to his training and experience. I always laugh when I tell a fellow American that I had work done in Mexico, Thailand, Costa Rica or Colombia, it never ceases to get a look that says why would you go to substandard places and take such risks? I’m only saying that it has worked for me…my horror stories happened in the US, overseas is so far so good. And I paid a LOT less for the same treatment. Do your due diligence but please realize that the US does not have the corner on the market of good doctors. Overseas is also a good option if you are not adequately covered here in the US. If you need extensive dental work, let’s face it, here it is prohibitively expensive and not covered to the extent needed by any insurance. Don’t let news on one bad clinic somewhere dictate your decision, there’s enough information available now so you can find out enough information on any place you want to get work done, if there isn’t, then don’t go there. Hope this helps some of you, I really needed extensive dental work done from my failed implant, if I would have done it in the US where I live, I could kiss my retirement goodbye. That’s my 2 cents for now…or two pesos…or two baht…