Questions, including the uncomfortable ones
The awkward questions are the ones worth answering. Where we do not know something, the answer says so.
When things go wrong
- What happens if there is a complication?
- In country, the operating clinic treats it, and you should confirm in writing what that costs: most published packages exclude complications, readmission and revision surgery. Back home, a complication is treated locally at US prices, usually by a surgeon who did not operate on you. Budget for that possibility before you fly, and tell your home clinician the plan before you leave, not after.
- Who answers if something goes wrong?
- The clinic and the operating surgeon, under the malpractice law of the country where the surgery happened. You file there, in that language, within their deadlines, and awards are typically far lower than in the US. This site is not a party to your care: we publish the catalog and hand you over to the clinic's own system. We say that plainly because discovering it after the fact is how trust dies.
- Can I sue a foreign clinic from the United States?
- Usually not with any practical effect. US courts rarely take jurisdiction over care delivered abroad, and a judgment is hard to enforce against assets in another country. Assume the local legal route is the only real one, and read the consent and arbitration clauses the clinic asks you to sign.
- Does my US health insurance cover this?
- Almost never for elective surgery abroad, and rarely for the follow-up of a complication from it. A handful of employer plans have international options. Ask your insurer in writing before you count on anything, and ask specifically about complications after you return.
Quality and verification
- Is care abroad as safe as in the United States?
- At an accredited hospital, for a routine elective procedure, in a well-selected patient, the evidence points to comparable results. That sentence has four conditions and all four matter. Outcome data per surgeon is not published in these countries, so nobody, including us, can hand you a complication rate. What you can verify is accreditation, volume for your specific procedure and the surgeon's certification.
- Why is it so much cheaper? What is being cut?
- Mostly the things that are expensive in the US and not clinical: administrative overhead, malpractice premiums, insurer negotiation, and salaries in a lower cost economy. Implants and drugs are usually the same brands at similar cost. What you do give up is proximity, legal recourse and continuity of care, which is a real trade, not a free lunch.
- How do you make money?
- We are paid by the clinics for listing and referral. We do not take a percentage of your surgery, we do not mark up the package, and paying more does not move a clinic up the list: results are sorted by price. You should still read us as an interested party and verify the accreditations yourself; the certificate numbers are on each profile for exactly that.
Practical planning
- How long do I have to stay?
- The nights listed for each procedure are the clinic's minimum before it clears you to fly, not a holiday. Flying too early raises the risk of clots and pressure-related complications. If a clinic tells you that you can fly the day after major surgery, treat that as a red flag.
- Will anyone speak English?
- At the listed hospitals, the international patient office and most surgeons do; ward nurses and night staff often do not. You can filter for English-speaking staff on the results page. Ask specifically whether an interpreter is present during consent, which is the one conversation you cannot afford to half-understand.
- Should I bring a companion?
- Yes, for anything under general anesthesia. Most clinics require a responsible adult at discharge, and the practical value of a second person who can ask questions while you are sedated is hard to overstate. Lodging estimates on this site assume a room, not a bed.
Privacy on this site
- What data does this site collect about me?
- None. No account, no email, no health questions, no uploads. The only thing stored in your browser is your language preference. When you request a quote, we pass four public values in the link: procedure, clinic, US state and language.
- Where does my medical information go?
- Into the clinical system you are handed over to, which has its own login and its own privacy terms. It is encrypted there and visible only to the clinic you authorize. This site never receives it back, never displays it and never stores it, by design rather than by policy.
A question that is not here
Ask the clinic directly through its international patient office, and ask for the answer in writing. Anything worth deciding on is worth having in a document.