For tourists who do not know much about exotic destinations around the world, Panama is probably a country they know little about. They are most likely aware that it is a Central American country that is known mainly as a vacation destination.
As Panama is equipped with tropical weather, as temperatures are high all year long, this makes Panama an ideal place for citizens from cold weather country to visit. North Americans, for example, will consider panama when looking to take a vacation “on the beach” and flee the cold winters.
Unfortunately, most people aren’t aware of the additional sides of Panama. In addition to the beautiful Panama Canal, the country’s magnificent beaches and legendary weather, Panama and its capital, Panama City, are also known as a leading business center in Central America. As such, Panama also offers very advance state-of-the-art medical centers to Panamanians as well as inbound medical tourists.
It may surprise some, but Panama has become a desired medical tourism destination attracting thousands of medical tourists every year. These come in for different kind of medical treatments, starting from necessary surgery to elective procedures, including the very popular field of plastic surgery.
Medical Tourism
But before we go into the medical tourism industry and elective surgery options in Panama, let us start by answering the basic question of “What is medical tourism”. This term describes the phenomena of patients traveling across national borders for the purpose of healthcare. Although this may sound to some as a new practice, this isn’t the case as it has been documented that people have been traveling for medical purposes for centuries.
The modern medical tourism industry as it is known today has developed in the past couple of decades thanks to global travel means improving immensely along with the internet which has helped the world grow smaller. Thanks to the new global reality, patients have been exploring this option in order to gain an advantage when they are unable to receive proper medical care in their own country.
Patients may be exploring their options due to them having improper medical insurance (or none at all), leading to the fact that patients aren’t able to afford undergoing the surgery. Another cause is long waiting lists as sometimes patients are forced to wait month or even years, while they can go through the same procedure in a different country in a matter of weeks, or it can simply be patients who have the means and would rather travel to countries with better or more advanced medical technology and research in a specific medical field.
Considering the relatively close proximity between North America and Panama, combined with the advance medicine being practiced in the country, there is no surprise that Panama has become a popular medical tourism destination.
Plastic Surgery in Panama
One medical discipline that has become extremely popular in Panama among incoming medical tourist is the whole field of plastic and cosmetic surgery. As plastic surgery isn’t usually covered under medical insurance plans, these kinds of surgeries can cost quite a bit when a patient chooses to have a procedure done. For this reason, people who cannot afford them will look elsewhere, trying to find the highest medical quality available for a lower price, as well as close destination.
Panama is a great choice that upholds both points stated above for Americans. On the one hand we are witnessing processes in which the Panamanian government is realizing the potential of this industry and helping private medical institutions with funds, contributing to the fact that the Panamanian healthcare system is evolving into an advanced western-like health system. On the other, Panama is just a short flight away and shows many culture similarities to the US, as well as large portions of the population who speaks English.
Regularly, the recovery process for these kinds of procedures is not as tough or long as other recoveries; which leads to patients being more comfortable to fly abroad for these types of surgeries. Patients are coming in to Panama for just about any type of plastic surgery available. This includes breast augmentation, lifts, reductions and enlargement, facelifts and other facial procedures, tummy tucks, liposuction and more.
Patients will fly in, reach the medical center and be accepted by the attending physician to begin preparing for the procedure. Once done, they will be able to recuperate in first class accommodations. After that patients are free to enjoy a vacation in the beautiful country.
There are many private hospitals in Panama, which cater to medical tourists from around the world. “Hospital Punta Pacifica”, affiliated with Johns Hopkins Medicine International (only one in Latin America), is just one of many advanced medical centers that provide western standard medicine.
If you are looking into cosmetic surgery abroad, be sure to check Panamanian hospitals in your medical tourism research. Good luck.
This Article has been written by Stuart Ben, a professional medical tourism facilitator. You can read more about medical tourism in Panama here: Hospitals in Panama : TicketMed and about medical tourism in general here: TicketMed : Medical Tourism