Published on March 24, 2008 at 5:54 PM
Growing waiting lists in British hospitals, especially for elective surgery, has sponsored a surge in the number of Brits who opt to go abroad for surgery.
The "medical tourists" are attracted by the availability of surgery and also by considerable financial savings - a dental implant can cost £2200 in the UK, but as little as £750 in Hungary, while a tummy tuck in Poland could be around half the British price of £4000.
This surge in medical tourism prompted the consumer organisation 'Which ?' to conduct a survey on the success of surgery carried out abroad.
For the poll Which? questioned almost 300 UK residents who had been overseas for medical treatment in the past five years and also called 10 companies offering treatment abroad.
They found almost a fifth suffered problems after travelling abroad for treatment.
According to Which? 18 per cent of them concede the experience was problematic, more than a quarter said they did not receive the necessary follow-up care and 8 per cent were forced to turn to the National Health Service for emergency help when they arrived home.
The surgery included a tummy tuck patient who ended up with septicaemia and a liposuction patient whose stomach wound up "leaking cellulite" and knee replacement patients told no medical follow-up or physiotherapy would be needed.
Experts say patients in such circumstances may find themselves on NHS waiting lists for vital physiotherapy or seeing a doctor who's reluctant to follow up unknown work.
According to the TreatmentAbroad.com Web site an estimated 100,000 Britons were "medical tourists in 2007.
Which? urges potential medical tourists to check doctors' qualifications and registration with a professional body and to remember that legal rights differ across countries.
Which? says medical tourists must do their homework before jumping on a plane and also avoid returning home too quickly, if they want to avoid potential problems.