Oh, my aching back!*By Inese Timuka . 28.12.2009*For all those who have ever experienced terrible back pain at some point in their lives.
Not so long ago, the wealthier citizens of developing countries used to visit the developed world to gain access to advanced medical care. But now it seems that a wave is reversing this trend. With the growing popularity of medical tourism, many people around the world, especially in the UK and the US, are looking for eye-catching treatment bargains in other countries. To find out who the best spinal surgeons in Latvia are and whether they’re ready to offer treatments to foreign patients, we visited "Orto" – the Clinic of Orthopaedics, Sport Traumatology and Spinal Surgery. More people in painOver last 20 or 30 years, the number of patients has grown enormously, said Dr Kaspars Ruks at the beginning of our interview. “The number of those patients whose problems should be treated with surgical procedures has not grown as much as the number of those patients who suffer back pain. These days it’s rare to find someone who hasn't endured pain in the back." The main reason is a modern urbanized lifestyle and lack of activity. Another trend Ruks mentioned is that thanks to the Internet more and more people share information about pain & treatments – which leads to serious problems as they start "home treatments" themselves. Every case is more-or-less unique. Overall, Orto deals with most kinds of bone and joint traumas and diseases. Prices and long linesIt is known that the leading motive of medical travel to take advantage of First World health care at Third World prices, "patients are demanding help in case the pain in their backs has lasted longer than a couple of months,” said Dr Artis Gulbis, a surgeon at Orto. “We are strongly approved of by foreign patients who have some connection to Latvia, like business or family affairs." Gulbis finished the Latvian Academy of Medicine and has been practicing in Boston, Anaheim, London and other cities’ clinics and has been working as a lecturer throughout Europe. He said that the math is simple in giving an overall picture of price differences. "Just a visit to specialists like us in England costs 300 pounds. But here it’s 10 times cheaper."
Dr Peredistijs mentions that at their clinic the price for foreigners is the same as it is for locals.
Latest technologies The majority of clinics in Latvia, especially private ones, are as equipped with state-of-art and internationally accepted medical devices as any clinic could hope to be, and doctors improve their knowledge on a regular basis. Gulbis said that in Latvia doctors are highly qualified at a young age. “In the UK, doctors in their thirties have just finished their residencies, but at this age our doctors already have around 10 years’ standing in their profession. We are more enthusiastic, more willing to work, and include new techniques in our daily routine. It is important to stress that we are using the most advanced technologies – the same technology is used in New York or Zurich. We use the same implants. Overall spine surgery is developing in two directions, first to simulate the natural structure of the body by using implants, and the second direction is, if surgery is needed, to avoid major damage to body tissue by using the minimally invasive methods." Every surgery is considered to be traumatic for the body. Recently, Dr Ruks started to put into practice spinal vertebrae fixation with a minimally invasive method, which is a considerable achievement as nobody else in the Baltic and Scandinavian region performs these kinds of operations. This type of surgery is mostly performed in case of trauma or for patients with lumbar spine degenerative diseases. We were assured that no matter what the case, only the best available implants are being used. "We work only with the best Swiss implants with the highest level of trust, for all patients in all ages." Patient-friendlyThe recession has already forced several changes in the city’s professional medical scene – in a positive sense. We've noticed that specialists have become better available for their patients, and their schedules are not as tight as they were only a year or two ago. It is important that in Latvia it is a standard that the doctor is personally involved during the healing process. We hear many references saying that nowhere in Europe is the service as attentive as it is in Riga. Dr Gulbis emphasized: "It is important that patients don't lose contact with their doctor, even after the surgery is complete."
Price comparison of procedure costs EUR
Ankle joint replacementUnited States 11 304UK 12 398Latvia 1024Hip replacementUnited States 32 820UK 26 141Latvia 3000Knee arthroscopyUnited States 4813UK 3466Latvia 655
michaelheemson 14.06.2012 21:12hi nev i dont normaly give it out but this is there link ReplyRead the rest of user comments»
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