In yesterday’s interview with Dr. Miguel Alfaro of Costa Rica, he candidly noted that the number of plastic surgery patients coming to Costa Rica from outside the country is down by perhaps 15-20 percent in 2008. This should surprise no one, given the state of the economy in the United States. In fact, Costa Rican plastic and cosmetic surgeons are probably weathering the economic slowdown better than are their higher priced counterparts in the U.S. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons estimates that business is down more than 50 percent, according to CNN, as reported by the Business and Media Institute.

The market for cosmetic procedures in Costa Rica, Mexico and other medical travel destinations has held up better than the U.S. market primarily because of the large price differential and because more Americans than ever before are aware that plastic surgery abroad is a relative bargain. Plastic surgery and dentistry travel (or both, combined) remain among the top choices of BridgeHealth International clients in 2008. People who might have opted for procedures costing $10,000 to $30,000 or more at home are instead getting the same work done abroad for perhaps $3,000 to $10,000.

The CNN report linked below looks only at the sharp decline in cosmetic surgery in the U.S. We thank Dr. Alfaro for his estimate regarding patients in Costa Rica. The video is better viewed on their site due to the format of the file.

Plastic Surgery’s Nip: CNN

Costa Rica was among the first well-known destinations for modern medical travel, dating back to the 1970s and early 1980s when some pioneering plastic surgeons and dentists first began serving international clients. Among them was Dr. Miguel Alfaro, who, like many Costa Rican surgeons, came to medical school in the United States and was trained in general and plastic surgery at the University of Colorado; the University of Missouri and the University of Michigan. He returned to Costa Rica in 1976 and worked for years for the country’s public health care system, while building his private practice in plastic surgery on the side. Most recently, Alfaro has been chairman of the Department of Surgery at Hospital San Juan de Dios in San José, Costa Rica.

Among other professional associations, Dr. Alfaro belongs to the International College of Surgeons; the Costa Rican Plastic Surgery Association; and the Plastic Surgery Association for Iberoamerica. He is a Fellow of the International College of Surgeons, a member of the American College of Surgeons and a Founding partner of the Costa Rican Association of Mastology.

Alfaro prides himself on being a conservative plastic surgeon and has built his international reputation in plastic surgery on excellent results as well as a safety record that is second to none.

“I have very good results,” he said in a recent interview with The Bridge. “I have done thousands of operations and I am very conservative … I mean, if I see a change in technique going on, I will wait a few years, frankly. I want to be sure it is safe, see what complications are encountered by others.”

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The Motley Fool’s reason for existing is “to educate, amuse and enrich.” The website has been dispatch breezy and sometimes irreverent financial advice to millions since about 1996. (It looked pretty different back then, too.) Late last week, Fool came out with its take on medical tourism:

Medical Vacations: The Retiree Health-Care Solution?

Despite the question mark, the Fool’s verdict was pretty one-sided.

The debate over U.S. health-care reform rages on. But why wait for someone else to dictate your future? You have many options — if you’re willing to take a vacation. If recovering from a medical procedure while lying on a palm-swept beach, relaxing by the hotel pool, or shopping for terrific bargains sounds good, then medical vacations may be exactly the right solution for you.

In other words — go for it. At The Bridge — and at BridgeHealth International — most folks cringe a little when life-saving or enhancing medical care is discussed in terms of being part of a vacation, but we’ll forgive Fool’s lightheartedness as long as patients recognize it for what it is.

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The Northern Colorado Business Report last week did a story about medical travel and tourism that featured Jennifer Blankenship, a sufferer of multiple sclerosis who needs stem cell therapy. The cost in the United States: $100,000.

The cost in Costa Rica for the equivalent treatment: $7,000.

The article link:

Medical Tourism Could Cure High Costs

Blankenship is heading to Costa Rica next month. The article, by health issues reporter Steve Porter, also spends some time talking about U.S. insurance companies and medical tourism: When will they start bringing it under their umbrella, as a care option? Perhaps soon, according to Daryl Richard, vice president of communications for UnitedHealth International.

“UnitedHealth International is currently researching the many issues and challenges related to medical travel and hopes to decide within a few months whether it will design a formal medical travel product for its customers,” Richard is quoted as saying.