Celeste Padgett is 61 pounds lighter since having Lap-Band surgery in November. She works for a resort in Lake Lure, but she didn't have the surgery there or in Charlotte.

 

Instead, she traveled 2,500 miles to Tijuana, Mexico. Her total cost, including airfare and lodging, was just under $8,000.

 

Had she done it in the United States, the cost would have been $20,000 to $35,000, “and that's not including all the pre-op evaluations you have to have, as well as the after care,” she said.

 

Padgett is part of a booming trend in health care called medical tourism, where patients going outside the United States for surgery.

 

The Internet shows numerous agencies that facilitate anything from open heart surgery to knee replacement to gastric bypass with much lower rates than here at home.

Dr. James Hunter is medical director for Carolinas Medical Center, and he said there are two main reasons patients go outside the states for surgery.

 

“Where there may be waits in the United States, you can frequently get scheduled much faster overseas. And the cost can be significantly less, especially if you're paying out of pocket,” he said.

 

Padgett did have to pay out of pocket because her insurance wouldn't cover Lap-Band surgery here or abroad.

 

But some insurance companies are starting to change their rules. Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina covers some procedures at accredited hospitals overseas, but Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina does not. They sent Eyewitness News a statement saying, "We have reservations about outsourcing patient care to international providers."

 

Hunter has reservations, too.

“It's harder to determine the qualifications of your physician and your hospital overseas than it is in the United States,” he said.

 

“What should patients be asking upfront?” asked Eyewitness News anchor Erica Bryant.

 

“At a minimum, you would check their training, their licensure. You would check any judgments or adverse events against those physicians,” he said.

 

He also warns against the idea of turning a medical trip into a vacation.

 

“(If you've had surgery,) going to the beach and taking bike rides and enjoying alcoholic beverages is not something we recommend after surgery,” he said.

 

Padgett said she's still losing weight and getting excellent follow-up care at a local clinic. She said she never would have been able to afford the surgery here in the United States.

 

Hunter understands that, but he wants to make sure patients consider more than cost. “But this is your health, and it really behooves you to independently verify the physician and the hospital that's going to be doing your procedure. And I would be wary about taking somebody else's word for their competence,” he said.

 

Hunter said you need to check more than just the doctor, like the anesthesiologist, too.

 

The cost is so little because international facilities don't have malpractice coverage like here in the states, and that limits your ability to sue if something goes wrong.

 

The Medical Tourism Association is a non-profit organization in Florida that helps patients learn more about medical tourism. It also works with companies around the world that help facilitate medical travel for patients.

 

Read the American Medical Association's Guidelines on Medical Tourism.

 

Joint Commission International provides information on the accreditation and certification of hospitals worldwide.