Computer-aided knee replacement (also known as computer-assisted knee replacement surgery or computer-aided knee arthroplasty) is attracting a large number of medical tourists to hospitals in India. The less invasive nature of total and partial knee replacement surgeries will go towards increasing their popularity in India.

In this procedure, a computer is installed with medical surgery software and is connected to a surgical infra-red camera and specialized surgical instruments. This knee surgery computer system is used by the surgeon to perform the knee replacement. This allows for more precision and accuracy during the surgery.

The surgeon can see the computer-generated image in real time while performing the operation. The alignment of the knee replacement implant is more accurate (accuracy of 0.5 mm and 0.5 degrees) and predictable compared to how it would be when doing surgery just with naked eyes.

The system acts as a GPS for the human body helping the surgeon by providing real-time navigation information and enhanced 3-D visualization. The International Society for Computer Assisted Orthopaedic Surgery is a non-profit organization working towards the growth of this field.

Other advantages of computer-aided knee replacement surgery are:

• Smaller incisions as it’s a minimally invasive surgery
• Faster recovery
• Less bleeding and lesser chance of blood clotting
• Less pain
• Easy on the patient and doctor
• Reduces chances of human error
• Increased implant longevity as it reduces chances of bad alignment requiring revision surgeries.

The total knee replacement usually lasts about 15 to 20 years. With the computer-assisted orthopedic surgery, the knee replacement can last up to 30 years without needing a replacement.

These advantages are achieved as computer assisted total knee replacement is a minimally invasive surgery (also known as laparoscopic or endoscopic surgery). In these type of surgeries, specialized instruments, monitors, fiber optic lights, miniature cameras and computer monitors are used to perform the surgery through a small incision unlike a traditional surgery which is more invasive.

Although the surgery is performed using a computer system, it does not mean that it can be done by a surgeon with anyless knowledge and experience. The procedure only combines the surgeon’s skill with computer technology.

In India, many surgeons have this expertise and experience. Research shows that not only does the computer-aided knee replacement get better results when compared to conventional knee replacement surgery, but it also significantly reduces chances of error.

With advancements in surgical robotics and computer-assisted surgical navigation, the use of traditional surgery for knee replacement will go down. Computer-assisted knee replacement is definitely the future of knee replacement surgery.

A number of people visit India for this cutting edge medical procedure. Although premier hospitals in USA, Canada and UK offer this latest medical procedure, majority of the hospitals do not do so yet. The associated price & cost of the Knee replacement surgery in India, Costa Rica and Mexico is about 50-80% less that what is in the USA.

Medical Tourism Corporation facilitates computer-assisted (aided) knee surgery in India. The typical price of this surgery in India is about 20% of what it would cost in the USA. This price also includes the estimated travel and lodging expenses that would be incurred.

Medical Tourism Podcast educates on medical travel(aka medical tourism, medical outsourcing, health tourism, medical trip etc). It provides details on the medical travel services that Medical Tourism Corporation facilitates.

 

 Medical Tourism Podcast [12:34m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Apart from educating on the benefits of using a medical tourism company, it describes the criteria used by Medical Tourism Corporation to add hospital overseas for medical care. Medical Tourism Corporation facilitates medical care at international low-cost specialty hospitals, clinics and surgery centers. These global medical institutes have expert doctors, surgeons, specialists and physicians, saving you about 60~80% of the cost. Countries include Mexico, India, Costa Rica, and Thailand.

Medical Tourism Corporation team visited Hospital Angeles in Tijuana, Mexico. This hospital is part of the largest private hospital chain in Mexico. Procedures offered to medical tourists at this Mexican hospital are Gall bladder Removal, Inguinal Hernial, Umbilical Hernia, Incisional Hernia, Lap Band Inamed, Lap Band J&J, Gastric Sleeve, Gastric Bypass, Arthoscophy, Arthoscophy (Outpatient), Knee Replacement, Hip Replacement and Hip Resurfacing.

Video of Hospital Angeles, Tijuana

Pictures of Hospital Angeles, Tijuana

It took us less than 25 minutes to drive from the San Diego airport to the hospital. Hospital Angeles, Tijuana, is a world-class hospital designed especially to provide state-of-the-art medical care to international patients. The hospital boasts one of the best doctors in its field, supported by an able staff and latest medical technology equipment. Hundreds of people visit Hospital Angeles in Tijuana for Lap Band , gastric bypass & gastric sleeve weight loss surgery.

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The 118-bed hospital has 97 private rooms and is located in an upscale area. It is the first fully integrated hospital in Baja California, meaning it offers complete medical services in-house (outpatient clinic, emergency room, pharmacy, intensive care unit, intermediate ICU, neonatal ICU, intermediate neonatal ICU, X-ray, tomography, MRI, nuclear medicine, fluoroscopy, angiography, fully-equipped laboratory, helicopter landing zone, and medical offices where 135 board-certified doctors practice). More than 50% of the current patients there are from United States.

The hospital is self-contained with its own cafeteria, a pharmacy, ATM, chapel and more, thus providing you everything that you may need during your stay. This is also a major reason why it’s such a popular medical tourism destination in Mexico.

And if you crave for good old American fast food, McDonald’s & Peter Piper Pizza are walking distance from the hospital. And then there is a Cine Mark across the Hospital, too. Not sure if it shows any English movies, though! For people missing a discount club shopping, Sam’s club is around the corner!

Hotel Marriott and a few luxury Mexican Hotels are close by. These are used rarely by the hospital patients, as the patient and one accompanying guest are accommodated in the hospital.

The hallways, waiting rooms, corridor and patient rooms and suites are kept sparking clean and give an impression of a five-star hotel and not a hospital. The walls are decorated with brightly colored abstract art by Tijuana painters. A lot of work, thought and attention to detail have gone in the interior design to make the aura uplifting and the hospital patient-friendly.

The signs are in English and Spanish; many of the staff speak English. For US patients, a dedicated English-speaking staff member is assigned.

The hospital takes special care of its doctors to ensure they are relaxed and are at their best when serving the patients. There is an exclusive hospital club area for doctors that includes a relaxing lounge, exercise gym, jacuzzi, swimming pool, sauna and more.

Medical Tourism Corporation facilitates medical trips to some of the world’s leading hospitals including Hospital Angeles, Tijuana.

1. Eat slowly and chew very well.

2. Avoid any drink 30 minutes before meals, during the meal and up to an hour after the meal.

3. When eating a meal, first eat proteins (meat, fish, egg), followed by vegetables and last, if desired, carbohydrates.

4. Take alcohol, if you want to, but in moderation, and avoid carbonated drinks.

5. Stop eating as soon as you feel full.

6. Avoid food between meals.

7. Go for low-calorie drinks. Avoid drinks with sugar.

8. Don’t forget to exercise 30 minutes a day.

9. Avoid dry or fibrous food.

Related Lap Band Links

Post Lap Band Diet: What to Eat after Lapband Surgery?

Bariatric Surgery Links

Doctors provide post lap band diet advice, but the recommendations can be different for different people. Below is an example of a diet recommendation after lap band in a major Costa Rican hospital. This is to only give you a good idea of what to expect, but, remember, you must follow the advice given by your lap band surgeon.

• Post-lap band surgery, your gastric capacity has been restricted between 3 and 8 ounces (90 mililiter-240 mililiters).Hence, the first few days, you need to respect the recommended amounts and the allowed foods, in order for your body to adapt and to reduce nausea, pain, and vomiting.
• The volume of food ingested should not exceed 240 ml (a small dessert cup or an 8 ounce plate). Remember that you must eat slowly and chew very well each morsel  of food.
• You can drink between 1 and 1.5 liters of water daily outside the daily meals. Remember to do it slowly, in little sips and preferably with a little spoon.
• Remember that the liquids you drink must be low in or free from calories . You can use a sugar substitute such as SPLENDA, no-Sucar, Equal, Nutra sweet, etc.
• Avoid food that could cause obstruction in the passage of food from your stomach to the small intestines such as: raw food with rind (apples, pear, mangoes, etc); seeded food (blackberries, guava, kiwi, popcorn, seeds like peanuts, almonds, cashews, etc.); fibrous food (Mandarin, orange, pineapple, etc).
• You should not drink any liquids, not even water during meals. Do it 15 to 30 minutes before or after meals.
• Do not drink carbonated drinks or alcoholic beverages for six months after the procedure.
• Do not stretch, recline on the sofa, or lie down in bed after eating.
• Do not eat dried nuts or ceded fruits until indicated by your nutritionist (blackberries, peanuts, cashews, almonds, guava, strawberries, etc).
• Ideally, medicines should be mashed and diluted in water to permit better swallowing and absorption. You can even consider taking the liquid versions. If that is not possible, take the capsules in the way mentioned above.
• Avoid sugar-sweetened foods and drinks (marmalades, coconut water, “agua dulce”, etc).
• Stop eating when you feel satisfied, don’t wait till you feel completely full.
• If you have vomiting or constant diarrhea for more than 3-5 days, call your doctor.
• Your nutritionist will recommend the nutritional supplements and food in order to maintain the adequate proteins and calories for your daily needs.
• When you eat food, remember to chew properly and with the mouth closed, and try to take your meals in a calm and relaxed pace.
• If you are a woman of reproductive age, ask for contraceptive methods to avoid pregnancy for a year after the surgery.
• Maintain the incisions clean and dry.
• Gradually increase movement and physical activity. Try not to lift heavy weights in order to avoid strain on the abdominal muscles and the zones of incision.
• Do not forget to take your daily vitamins.

Related Lap Band Links

Bariatric Surgery Links

There are many lap band pre-surgery diet options, but one common diet recommendation is to help the liver shrink. A smaller liver helps the surgeon perform the surgery easily. If the liver is too large, the surgery may have to be postponed. Below is a diet recommended by one of our network hospitals before a lap band surgery:

Pre-Lap Band Surgery Diet Recommendation

A low-fat/carb diet is recommended about 7-10 days before gastric band surgery. A liquid diet may be too drastic and may drain the person’s energy.
About two weeks before surgery, you need to start on a special diet that is low in fat and carbohydrates. It is important to follow this diet because you need to lose fat around your stomach and around your liver and reduce the size of your liver.
In general, it is recommended that you limit your intake of high fat, high carbohydrates and high sugar foods. No carbonated drinks and no alcohol at least seven days before surgery. This is the recommended diet:

Breakfast
* One serving of any two of the following: (toast, eggs, oatmeal, yogurt, fruits, or cereal).
Lunch
* One serving of Myocel (or any protein supplement providing about 20-25 grams of protein per serving) mixed with skim milk, water, or fruit juice.
Dinner
* One serving of lean meat or fish (pork, beef, chicken or fish) and one serving of green vegetables (lettuce, broccoli, etc.)
Dessert
* One serving of Myocel mixed with skim milk, water, fruit juice, or any high protein, low carb drink.

If you smoke, we recommend you stop at least two weeks before the surgery.

Links:

Related Lap Band Links

Post Lap Band Diet: What to Eat after Lapband Surgery?

9 Bandster Eating Rules: Gastric Lap Band Diet Recommendations

Bariatric Surgery Links

Medical tourism in India is projected to grow by six times from US $350 million now to an over US $2 billion-industry in 2012. Hence, hospitals in India have a very bright future. India is the largest democracy in the world, is one of the fastest growing economies that is projected to more than double in the next five years.

India is one of the most attractive medical tourism bargains for someone in the West who is looking for high-end medical procedures or surgery overseas at a low cost. Some of the unique advantages that India provides for medical tourists from the West are:

Low cost of medical treatment: Prime Driver of Medical Tourism in India

• Private health care in India is comparable to much that is available at the best hospitals in the world and at a far lower cost. Even considering the cost of air travel and luxury hotel accommodation (if required), the cost savings comes out to be 40-80% of what is in the USA.

Experienced and talented pool of Medical Professionals

• With a long history of subsidized medical education and high investments in medical research, India has one of the biggest pool of medical professionals and scientists in the world.
• Many Indian doctors have learned their trade and practised it in the US and UK.
• Due to the sheer volume of patients and less bureaucratic delays in acceptance of new medical procedures, surgeons have more experience in some of the new medical techniques. For example, hip resurfacing surgery was introduced in USA by the FDA in 2006, whereas it had already been in practice in India for many years then.

Strong Private Hospital Infrastructure

• India has one of the biggest private hospitals in the world. Many of them are affiliated with top world medical institutes like Harvard Medical and John Hopkins. A number of these hospitals are also accredited by JCI, USA, or ISO. These medical centers have the infrastructure, experience and the setup for quality conscious medical tourism patients from the West.

English is widely spoken

• It’s the medium of most public conversations and the preferred language of communication in hospitals and medical centers.
• English is also the medium of instruction in schools and professional training.

A Government that is favorable to medical tourism

• Indian government has a special visa for medical tourists that allows them to stay for long periods in the country. Also, the government has an investment of US $6.5 billion in the pipeline for medical tourism. This is for setting up affordable hospitals in India and budget hotels for patient’s relatives.

Experience in Medical Tourism

• Medical tourists from South Asia and Middle East have been coming for medical treatment to India for many years now. Also, Medical tourism from UK to India has become quite common. It’s only Medical Tourism from North America (USA, Canada) to India that is a relatively new phenomenon.

Medical decisions by Doctors, not by rules made by Non-Medicos

• Unlike many countries, doctors have most of the say in medical treatment in India, unlike many countries where doctors are afraid that what they say or do might be used against them in a law suit.

Familiarity of Western Patients with Indian Doctors

• Many Western patients have had previous experience with Indian doctors.
• One in 20 physicians in the USA is from India; a large number of Indian physicians practice in the UK, too.

To summarize it, the future of Medical Tourism in India is very bright. In the next few years, Hospitals in India are going to expand and new hospitals will open.

Medical Tourism Corporation facilitates medical treatment to top Hospitals in India. Request a quote using the form on this page for more information.

This article covers some of the key things to keep in mind when selecting a clinic or a hospital at an international destination or if required en route. It also educates you on what a medical tourism company can and cannot do to assist someone on a lookout for affordable medical treatment abroad.

Why you may need medical care abroad?

• If there is an emergency when overseas;
• If you need any follow-up care for an existing condition;
• If you need regular checkups like annual checkups or periodic dental checkups and cleanings (especially in case of long stay overseas);
• Or it could be that the primary purpose of your trip to a foreign country is for a medical treatment or surgery (Medical Tourism). In either of the cases, it’s important to have good knowledge of and a plan for handling any international medical needs.

Before your trip, it’s a good idea to have medical travel insurance. Check if your existing health insurance plan covers your overseas trip and stay. Otherwise, buying a good travel and health insurance plan is recommended. Know the insurance terms and conditions in detail. Good international travel insurance will have an added benefit of covering travel interruptions and delays, lost baggage and travel documents. There are cheap international travel insurance plans that cover the important things and at the same time are not expensive.

From your insurance company, get a list of overseas hospitals that are covered in the trip that you are planning to make. A good insurance should provide wide options for you to choose from.

For some of you who are from a country that has socialist medicine (like Canada or UK) or from a country where employer-provided health insurance is popular (like USA), you may not be used to paying directly in advance to the doctor or the hospital.

But, in many international countries you have to pay before you are treated. Even if you have insurance coverage and that hospital is in your insurance network coverage, you may be required to pay in advance the full estimate charge. The insurance will reimburse you afterwards. Find out from the hospital and the health insurance provider about the procedure in your specific case. Carrying a recognized credit card in such cases can be handy. Also, confirm with the hospital in advance if they accept the credit card or some other means of payment is acceptable.

Below are ten important points to consider when deciding on a Medical Tourism Hospital:

1. The first thing to keep in mind about selecting an overseas hospital is the recognized international accreditations and certifications the hospital has. An excellent choice would be a JCI (Joint Commission International)-accredited hospital. JCI is a not-for-profit organization that accredits hospitals worldwide based on their quality and safety of patient care. A hospital has to go through rigorous quality compliance and audits to get the accreditation. Other certifications like ISO 9000 are also a good indicator of the high quality of the care at the overseas hospital. Affiliation of the hospital to other prestigious medical institutes (like Harvard Medical, John Hopkins) is another indicator that the hospital could be a good choice.

2. Make sure the doctors in the hospital are board certified, either in their own country or some country reputed in medical care. If you plan to include medical care (treatment or checkup) as part of your trip, you can always request in advance the resume of the doctors that will treat you.

3. Select a fully integrated hospital over a clinic where possible. A clinic usually has a limited service or caters to a particular medical specialty. An integrated hospital is one that has everything (all major specialties) and medical facilities like ICU, blood bank, ER, MRI, X-Ray, pathology, laboratory, pharmacy, doctors’ offices and more at the same place. There are many advantages to this. To name a few:

- Integrated hospitals usually have higher quality and physicians are experienced;

- You can avoid trips to multiple medical facilities in a foreign land;

- In case of an emergency you have everything available at one place thus saving you critical time;

- You deal with one entity and not many;

- Big hospitals are very concerned about their reputation with foreigners. Hence, you will receive special treatment;

- If the hospital has an International patients’ department, a concierge service, cafeteria and accommodation for a patient and accompanying guest, it is even better.

4. Fourth, does the hospital staff understand your language? It’s important that either the staff know your language or that they at least have an international patient department that addresses this communication issue. Clear and quick communication of your requirement to the physician and similarly the physician’s message to you is important. Additionally, the physician should be able to understand the written language to review your medical records from the home country. If you are going on a planned medical trip overseas, talking to the physician in advance will help address these concerns.

5. What is the reputation of the hospital among the people there? A good hospital will have a good name locally. If possible, ask your international contacts for hospital references.

In case of a pre-existing condition that needs specialist checkup, tests or monitoring, it’s important for you to make sure in advance that your international specialist is well qualified and is aware of your case. It is quite customary for international doctors to talk to each other about a patient over phone. You could even arrange a teleconference between the three of you. Your local doctor could help you choose the right international follow-up care for you. The international physician should also be willing to work with your local physician in terms of communication and medical records transfer. This is for your care once you are back home. Hospitals that have dealt with international patients in the past should be able to address this area easily. Also, physicians working at such facilities are more acquainted with international patient care.

6. There are some hospital quality indicators that you can request a hospital for. These can be compared to the benchmarks in your country or any country where medical care quality is high. Some of common ones are: mortality rate, Staph (Staphylococcus) infection rate, and nurse to patient ratio. In some countries the trend is for hospitals to publish this data on the web, but in some countries you have to ask the hospital for the numbers, and in some it is not available at all. But quality indicators are usually not available for new hospitals. This is due to the fact that not enough data (patients treated) has been accumulated to give a statistically accurate number.

Many people from the West are surprised at the low cost of treatment in overseas hospitals. Places like India, Mexico, Costa Rica and Thailand can save you about 60-90% of the costs that you would incur in the USA. These low prices are sometimes in spite of the fact that many overseas physicians are more experienced and trained than their counterparts in the West. The low cost is due to a number of factors, namely: less bureaucratic medical administration, lower salary expenditures, less litigious laws, and more efficient management.

7. When looking for hospital or a clinic overseas one should be careful not to look for the lowest price in that area or country. Usually, the lowest price in a place equates to low quality. The clinic or hospital could be offering the lowest prices either because they do not have much business or because the quality of the infrastructure or staff is compromised.

8. Another factor to consider is the distance between the healthcare center and the place where you will be staying at the international location. Many popular tourist destinations don’t have good transport infrastructure. The distance may not be much, but due to lack of infrastructure it might take a long time and be a tiring trip. Keep this in mind when deciding on a hospital.

9. What is the attitude of local people towards foreign tourists, especially those related to Medical Tourism? Making a medical trip to a city or country that may not have a welcoming attitude towards foreigners should be avoided as there is a good choice of medical tourist-friendly locations.

10. Current patient experience. These can be in the form of patient satisfaction surveys or even patient testimonials. This information can be requested from the hospital or a medical tourism company might have it available.

Examples of hospitals that meet the above discussed criteria are Hospital Clinica Biblica in Costa Rica, Hospital Angeles in Mexico and Hospital Wockhardt in India.

If you are planning the trip for a medical necessity (surgery or a specific medical treatment), working with a Medical Tourism Company to select the right hospital for your needs is a good idea. The cost to the patient is the same, if they use the services of a Medical Tourism Company or go directly to the hospital, but using the service of a medical tourism company has some notable benefits.

A competent medical tourism company can be an excellent source of information for hospitals and the physicians overseas. They have readily available information that can help compare between different hospitals, physicians and countries, without having to do information gathering on your own. In addition to saving time, the medical tourism company can help in medical loan financing, discounted travel arrangements and other concierge services to make your trip more convenient and satisfying.

A point to note is that a medical tourism company is not a medical advisory service. It provides information and facilitates logistics and communication. Medical Tourism FAQ should help clarify this common confusion. Medical advice or recommendation can be only given by your physician.

About the Author: Deepak Datta is an entrepreneur & President of Medical Tourism Corporation, a Plano TX based medical tourism company. Medical Tourism Corporation web address is http://www.medicaltourismco.com/. The mission of the company is to have satisfied and happy medical tourists.

Hospital Angeles in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico is part of Grupo Angeles, a business group that owns the largest private hospital chain in Mexico. The hospital is a very popular destination for US patients wanting lap band surgery (adjustable laparoscopic gastric banding). This is a popular type of bariatric (obesity/weight loss) surgery. An investment of more than 84 Million US dollars went into setting up this hospital.

There are no border charges to enter Ciudad Juarez from the USA. Travel by car, taxi, bus, and even simply walking across on foot is quite common across this international border. It took us less than 15 to minutes drive form the El Paso airport baggage claim area to the hospital in Juarez.

Hospital Angeles, Juarez, is a world class medical care facility designed especially to provide state-of-the-art high quality medical care to international patients. The hospital boasts of some of the best doctors in their field, supported by an able staff and latest medical technology equipment. Top bariatric surgeons (lap band, gastric sleeve, gastric bypass ) surgeons practice at this facility.

Video of Hospital Angeles, Juarez Mexico

Pictures of Hospital Angeles, Juarez Mexico

We were told that more than 70% of the current patients here for lap band are from United States. This was confirmed when we observed many Americans in the hosptial lobby. With the cost of high quality medical care here at a fraction of the USA cost, it is not surprising. Lap band surgery cost in Mexico is about US $8000 vs. the USA cost for the same surgery around US $25,000.

The hospital is a fully integrated hospital, meaning it offers complete medical services in-house (outpatient clinic, emergency room, pharmacy, intensive care unit, intermediate ICU, neonatal ICU, intermediate neonatal ICU, X-ray, tomography, MRI, nuclear medicine, fluoroscopy (it’s a X-Ray type machine used for lap band adjustments), angiography, fully equipped laboratory, blood bank, helicopter landing zone, doctor offices and more).

The hospital is self-contained with its own chapel, cafeteria, pharmacy, gift shop, ATM, and more. Unless, you want to take a look around, there will be no need for you to step outside the hospital premises.

For people wanting a taste of good old American fast foods, fast foods chains like Haagen-Dazs, Wendy, Subway, and Carl’s are walking distance from the hospital. But these might not be of interest to bariatric surgery patients.

About three miles from the hospital is a Hampton Inn Hotel, part of the Hilton Family, and a 4-star Mexican Hotel: City Express. These are used rarely by hospital patients as the patient and an accompanying guest are accommodated in the hospital.

Medical Tourism Corporation team hopes this report helps you in your journey to find the right medical destination.

For lap band surgery (laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding) or other international medical surgery, fill out the estimate request form on our site for a free quote and more information.