The growing trend of medical tourism for weight loss surgery raises significant patient safety concerns. Increasingly, patients are traveling abroad for procedures due to long NHS waiting times and high private surgery costs in the UK. The surgical costs abroad can be significantly lower, but these medical tourism packages often do not include essential aftercare, leaving patients vulnerable to complications. Marketing strategies often emphasize aesthetic results, improperly framing surgery as a superficial solution rather than a complex medical treatment for a chronic disease. Experts call for urgent international regulatory standards for this sector.
A booming trade in medical tourism for weight loss surgery is placing patients at risk and needs urgent regulation, experts have warned.
The out-of-pocket cost for bariatric surgery done privately in the UK is about 10,000-15,000, but 2,500-4,500 in countries such as Turkey.
Lengthy NHS waiting lists, typically two years or more from referral, the unaffordable cost of private surgery in the UK, and the increasing number of people living with obesity have led to more patients seeking bariatric surgery abroad.
Medical tourism packages rarely cover continued care in the case of complications or long-term nutritional or psychological support.
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