Eight considerations if you want weight loss surgery abroad

Marie-Claire Dorking
·Contributor
·4 min read
Female patient after weight loss surgery abroad. (Getty Images)
Experts have put together new guidance for patients considering weight loss surgery abroad. (Getty Images)

Experts have issued new guidelines for patients considering weight loss surgery abroad as medical tourism continues to grow.

Recent stats from the ONS estimated that 348,000 UK residents travelled abroad for treatment in 2022 - up from 248,000 in 2019 and 151,609 in 2018.

While medical treatments can include dental and cosmetic surgery, cancer treatment, fertility treatment, organ transplants and stem cell therapy, one of the fastest growing areas is obesity or bariatric surgery. The British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society (BOMSS) told The BMJ it estimates around 5,000 people a year may be going abroad for bariatric surgery, about the same amount as have bariatric surgery through the NHS in England.

The latest Health Survey for England shows 64% of adults were overweight or obese in 2022, but a recent Obesity Health Alliance report highlighted that some patients are being asked to wait for up to five years for specialist weight management support in England. Some overweight and obesity management services are so overstretched that they have closed their waiting lists entirely.

But concerns have been raised as some overseas clinics are providing the surgery at a fraction of the cost offered by UK private providers, indicating shortcuts could be being taken. Doctors are also reporting a rise in patients coming to them with serious complications after having weight loss surgery abroad.

As well as cases of patients receiving substandard treatment after going abroad for treatment, there are also reports of some dying due to poor care. Foreign Office travel advice highlights how six British nationals died in Turkey in 2023 following medical procedures.

To try to provide potential patients with all the facts, experts have come up with safe practice guidelines - published in the International Journal of Surgery - on bariatric and metabolic surgery tourism.

Woman arriving at the doctor's office
Experts recommend doing your research before weight loss surgery abroad and considering the risks. (Getty Images)

The guidance recommends consulting a doctor at home before travelling abroad for a procedure. The NHS says a doctor can give you a valuable second opinion as well as advice about treatment options and whether it's necessary.

"As the doctor could be involved in your aftercare, discuss with them how to transfer medical notes to the overseas team," the NHS adds.

The guidance recommends patients who are overweight but not obese – with a body mass index score of less than 30 – should not seek bariatric surgery abroad.

Anyone planning overseas treatment is advised to use internationally accredited clinics or hospitals, it is worth noting, however, that using an accredited clinic or hospital does not guarantee a satisfactory outcome.

Examples of accrediting bodies include Joint Commission International, and the International Society for Quality in Healthcare.

The new guidance recommends patients should be provided with clear information on the risks and benefits of the surgery, including the risks associated with travel.

The NHS advises making sure you understand the possible complications and side effects that could arise from your treatment.

"Ensure you're clear about how your aftercare will be coordinated," the site explains. "You should stay in the country where you’ve had treatment for a suitable length of time to recover before travelling home."

Weight loss surgery is complex and needs specialist long-term support, with continual reviews. The new guidance recommends patients should be followed up for at least two years after the procedure.

When complications occur with overseas weight loss surgery, there may be an assumption that the NHS can sort out any issues. However, The National Health and Travel Network centre (NaTHNaC) warns this is not always straightforward, and has resulted in unwell patients being medically evacuated back to the UK to attend their local accident and emergency department.

The guidance advises those seeking medical procedures abroad to be wary of special offers or discounted rates because such offers "raise concern about the quality of care".

It is also suggested that prospective patients "must not be subjected to targeted social media advertising relating to bariatric surgery abroad".

When travelling abroad for medical treatment the NHS recommends ensuring you have adequate insurance. Most travel insurance policies will not cover you for planned treatment abroad, so you may need specialist cover.

Guidance to protect the health of British travellers is available at The National Health and Travel Network centre.

Public Health Scotland has also issued helpful advice and a checklist regarding matters to consider for people who are considering travelling abroad for surgical treatment.

The NHS has published guidance on going abroad for medical treatment.

Read more about weight loss surgery:

Latest Stories

  • Ukraine war maps show how much land Russia has taken

    Russia says it has no plans to cede territory won in the conflict. But could allowing Moscow to keep captured land potentially cause wider chaos?

  • A New Study Has Identified The 1 Grandparent Who Has The Biggest Impact On Kids, And It Makes A Lot Of Sense

    A new study found that this grandparent's positive influence on a child who had experienced trauma can extend for years.

  • How many minutes of daily exercise lowers heart disease risk? Here’s the science

    In a recent study, researchers reviewed data from 196 published articles to determine the impact of exercise on heart disease and cancer risk. The post How many minutes of daily exercise lowers heart disease risk? Here’s the science appeared first on The Manual.

  • Is walking outdoors better than walking on a treadmill? Interesting research

    Many of us prefer walking outdoors in our neighborhood, on our favorite hiking trail under a canopy of trees, or in our local cities and towns. The post Is walking outdoors better than walking on a treadmill? Interesting research appeared first on The Manual.

  • An expert says don’t waste your money on beetroot supplements—try this instead

    Beets are ranked among the top 10 most potent antioxidant vegetables.

  • Man kills wife during visit to his parents' Readfield home, police say

    Authorities say the suspect's mother was found seriously injured. Her condition has been upgraded from critical.

  • Cree healer pleads guilty to sexually assaulting 12 women

    Cecil Wolfe, 63, a former Cree medicine man and respected elder, has admitted he sexually assaulted a dozen female patients with maladies ranging from cancer to depression under the guise of performing traditional healing practices.

  • BBC undercover filming exposes Indian pharma firm fuelling opioid crisis

    An Indian drug maker tells a BBC undercover team its addictive cocktail drug is “very harmful” but “this is business”.

  • A new method of administering ketamine to patients is now available in Calgary

    A Calgary clinic has received provisional accreditation to provide a novel way of administering the psychedelic drug ketamine. It offers intravenous treatments to individuals suffering from severe depression, anxiety, or PTSD.

  • Awanti Naik, 40, is recovering from Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune condition that had her in intensive care for 12 days after paralysis left her unable to speak or swallow.

    It was in early January that Awanti Naik's symptoms first crept up on her, starting with double vision and quickly followed by a debilitating headache and a strange feeling in her face. "There was heaviness in my jaw and eyes, and my throat was completely blocked," she said. "I was very much worried." She and her husband rushed to hospital where she spent 12 days in intensive care, attached to an IV for food since she couldn't speak or swallow. Naik, a public school teacher, said she tried to communicate with the doctors to find out if she would ever recover from her facial paralysis. "I thought, 'I don't want to live like this. I don't want to live with double vision,'" Naik, 40, told CBC News from her home in Pune, a city in India's western Maharashtra state, where she is slowly recovering.She was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, or GBS, a rare autoimmune disorder in which the body's immune system attacks its nerves, causing muscle weakness and varying degrees of paralysis. 32 still in intensive careNaik's is one of 212 confirmed cases of GBS in Pune as of Thursday, all part of an outbreak that continues to see new patients diagnosed in a city that has rapidly grown as it's become an education and information technology hub.As of Thursday afternoon, 11 people there had died, two in the previous 48 hours, according to Pune city officials. More than a dozen patients are on ventilators, with 32 still in intensive care.This Jan. 12, 2013, photo shows an employee working at a poultry farm in Koregaon Mul village, some 30 kilometres from the western Indian city of Pune, where there is currently an outbreak of Guillain-Barré syndrome. Though GBS cases are often linked to undercooked chicken, Indian officials believe that water contamination is the main source of this outbreak. (Punit Paranjpe/AFP via Getty Images)Once the nature of the outbreak was identified, local authorities worked quickly to free up beds at government hospitals and cover costs, said Dr. Ameet Dravid, an infectious disease specialist at the privately run Poona Hospital. But the initial days of the outbreak in early January, when many patients arrived at ERs with severe diarrhea and creeping paralysis, were filled with confusion. "From one GBS case a month per hospital, we were going to six a week" in each of the three hospitals within a confined area of Pune, said Dravid, who treated and monitored several of the patients."That was the first suspicion that something was wrong." Authorities analyzed bodily fluids from patients and traced the outbreak to a pathogen called campylobacter jejuni, which is a common cause of foodborne illness and is considered the main type of bacteria to cause GBS around the world. But the disorder is rare because only a specific strain of campylobacter jejuni, which has an outer layer that mimics the structure of nerve cells, actually leads to the autoimmune disease developing. The outer layer around this particular strain of the pathogen fools the body's immune system into killing its nerve cells alongside the bacteria, causing paralysis in the patient. Challenges in treatmentThe World Health Organization has sent teams to Pune to help local health workers trace and monitor cases in the affected area to make sure "every suspected case is identified, diagnosed and treated," it said in a release. GBS is notoriously difficult to diagnose, especially for doctors in remote parts of India, because it requires specialized testing kits. "If this had happened in a rural area, it would have been very tough to diagnose these GBS cases," Dravid told CBC News from his private clinic, adding he was thankful that the patients were admitted to hospitals where there were qualified neurologists available to help identify the cause of the paralysis. Dr. Ameet Dravid, an infectious disease specialist at the privately run Poona Hospital. (Salimah Shivji/CBC)After extensive tests on more than 6,000 water samples, officials traced the likely source of the pathogen, which made so many sick with severe diarrhea, to contaminated wells and multiple other sources of water. They believe the bacterial contamination got into the water supply in the area where the outbreak is concentrated, but do not know how it occurred.'We need to wake up'Health officials in Pune, along with Maharashtra state authorities, have repeatedly told residents not to panic, adding that measures to control the contamination are in place though those measures are unclear.There were also concerns at first that traces of the pathogen were found in raw chicken, but officials said multiple samples turned up negative. Experts believe if poultry was carrying the pathogen, it could have been after it was washed with water containing the bacteria. "This is a public health failure," said Dravid. "We need to wake up."WATCH | Dozens still in hospital after GBS outbreak: The extent of the outbreak points to a larger problem across a rapidly developing India, but one that is particularly acute in Pune, one of the country's fastest growing cities with many moving to the area for job opportunities in the IT sector: Water purification facilities and other public health measures have not kept up with the pace of urbanization, the doctor said. "There is now growing clamour that public health needs to be given more importance," Dravid said, particularly as Pune also saw a record-high number of dengue cases last year, during a very wet monsoon season. The mosquito-borne viral disease is also a significant public health concern, as it can cause prolonged health issues and its annual mortality rate is rising. Last year was the worst on record for worldwide dengue cases. As for GBS, the recovery rate is quite high — usually about 95 per cent, though degrees of recovery vary. But the complication is that there is no cure and treatment is expensive.After the initial immune attack prompts muscle weakness and creeping paralysis, GBS patients generally require time and significant physiotherapy to repair nerve damage. A substantial number of Dravid's patients still have weakness in their limbs or symptoms like tingling and numbness, and others are using wheelchairs to avoid falling. "That is the real cost of this war, which we have fought in the last month." Long-term effectsNaik and her family are feeling the costs associated with her illness — she is still plagued with double vision and unable to teach.She has temporarily lost her income as she tries to recover; her mother has moved into her house to help with daily tasks while she's on sick leave. "[Our] finances were in crisis because the treatment is very, very expensive," Naik said, with her medical insurance not covering the full cost and hospital staff demanding the remaining payment before administering her medicine. The state government began covering the cost of treatment for patients in government hospitals, not private ones, in late January. She said she tries to keep a positive outlook for her 16-year-old daughter. But mostly, there's anxiety over her vision and the state of the water she and her family have access to.  "I'm very scared to even drink water or eat any fruits or vegetables. I don't know, is it safe?"

  • Bill introduced to rename part of Southern Boulevard after Donald Trump

    Bill introduced to rename part of Southern Boulevard after Donald Trump

  • Encanto residents call for improvements to Marie Widman Park amid funding concerns

    Residents in the Encanto community of San Diego are voicing their concerns over the lack of adequate park facilities in the area.

  • GOP Senator Promotes Measles Vaccine Despite Confirming RFK Jr.

    Many people wondered why the senator and former doctor posted info supporting the vaccine while voting to confirm an anti-vaxxer to run HHS.

  • Caregiving for my mom and 2 toddlers made me feel like a failure. There was never enough time in the day.

    My mom moved in with us when she was dying of cancer, and I had two toddlers. It was difficult balancing caregiving, and I felt like a failure.

  • The Simple Way To Find Out If Your Workouts Are Too Easy Or Too Hard

    It boils down to a number, experts say.

  • Anti-Elon Musk rally at Cincinnati area Tesla dealership calls for preservation of federal jobs

    Around 200 people, mostly federal government workers, protested outside the Blue Ash Tesla dealership Wednesday calling for the company's billionaire owner to cease job cuts in the US Government.

  • Sask. woman says indefinite wait for breast biopsy is 'torture'

    Louise Fedirko, 72, is waiting for a breast biopsy after two mammograms and an ultrasound suggested she needs a mass tested for possible breast cancer. The Regina woman says she's been told the backlog is so long, there's no date or timeline for when she could get a biopsy.

  • The Risk Factors For A Blood Clot Are More Common Than You Think

    A young NBA player recently got diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis. Here's how it happens and what to do if you have a clot.

  • McDavid scores in OT to give Canada 3-2 win over US in 4 Nations Face-Off final

    Connor McDavid scored at 8:18 of overtime in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game to give Canada a 3-2 victory over the United States on Thursday night.

  • Jury spares convicted killer of death penalty, recommends life in prison without parole

    Jury spares convicted killer of death penalty, recommends life in prison without parole