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Medical Tourism

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“A growing number of foreigners are taking advantage of a�ordable, high

quality private healthcare in Sri Lanka, and combining it with the chance to

take a holiday. What better way to prepare for an operation than relaxing for

a few days on a palm-fringed golden beach or waking to the pleasant aroma

of fermenting tea leaves wafting through your hill country bungalow?”

Sri Lanka: The Complete Health Destination

Prime Travel

Sri Lanka’s appeal as a tourist destination is partly

a re!ection of its remarkable variety of attractions.

Beach holidays, cultural packages and eco-tourism

are all on o�er to the discerning traveller. In recent

years, Sri Lanka has also come to stake its claim as

a global health destination. While the proliferation

of Ayurvedic health spas across the country is

testament to the restorative bene"ts of this ancient

holistic system of medicine, Colombo also now

boasts a selection of modern, well equipped

private hospitals o�ering the latest in conventional

medical and surgical therapies.

That Sri Lanka should position itself as a global

health destination is hardly surprising. The island

has long been a centre of physical and spiritual

healing. Travel to the Cultural Triangle and

you will see the ruins of ancient hospitals over

1,000-years-old, along with excavated surgical

instruments that look remarkably similar to

modern-day surgical forceps. Since the 1970s,

Sri Lankan doctors have come to be among the

country’s best-known exports to the West and

virtually all the specialists in Sri Lanka have had at

least part of their postgraduate training abroad,

commonly in the United Kingdom or the United

States.

A growing number of foreigners are taking

advantage of a�ordable, high quality private

healthcare in Sri Lanka, and combining it with P

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the chance to take a holiday. What better way to

prepare for an operation than relaxing for a few

days on a palm-fringed golden beach or waking

to the pleasant aroma of fermenting tea leaves

wafting through your hill country bungalow?

Though the medical tourism industry in Sri Lanka is

still in its early days, a number of private hospitals

in Colombo are well geared to provide services

to international clients. Among the best known

of these include the Apollo Hospital (www.

lankahospitals.com), Asiri Hospital Group (www.

asiri.lk), Durdans Hospital (www.durdans.com),

and Nawaloka Hospital (www.nawaloka.com).

All of these are equipped with state-of-the-art

technology and equipment, and o�er the latest in

diagnostics, medical and surgical services.

While it is possible to establish direct contact with

the hospital of your choice, it is usually preferable

to obtain a direct referral from your own doctor

or to engage the services of a third-party agent,

at least when thinking about elective surgery.

One such agent is Gorgeous Getaways (www.

gorgeousgetaways.com). Based in Melbourne,

Australia, this company specializes in organizing

cosmetic and surgical holidays to a choice of

destinations, including Sri Lanka. However, it also

arranges a range of packages including non-

surgical treatments such as dental treatments and

spa massages. Louise Cogan, Director of Gorgeous

Getaways, says that on average, the costs of a total

package to Sri Lanka including airfares, transfers,

pre- or post-procedure holiday at a luxury resort,

food, hospital stay and all treatment costs, are in the

order of 50% of the costs of the surgical procedure

alone in the West.

Sacha is a 22-year-old New Zealander and mother

of two that last year had breast augmentation and

liposuction at Apollo hospital in Colombo. She was

positively glowing in her endorsement of Sri Lanka

as a choice for her surgery and had no hesitation in

recommending Sri Lanka and the package o�ered

through Gorgeous Getaways. She was also full of

praise for the two plastic surgeons that operated

on her: “Dr Dulip and Dr Thushan are amazing

people. They have a great sense of humour and are

very professional. I met them on the day prior to

my surgery and was left with the impression that I

would be in very capable hands.”

Six months following the procedure, Sacha remains

delighted with the results. She says she chose Sri

Lanka for two main reasons. The "rst was that it was

an exotic destination and sounded more interesting

than Kuala Lumpur. The second was that, having

done extensive research on the internet, she felt

she could expect a good standard of care. She was

not disappointed, saying, “The care that I received at

Apollo hospital did in fact outstrip my expectations”.

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8 travelsrilanka

According to Jane Gagen of Apollo, the

most common surgical services provided to

international clients include cosmetic surgery

(breast augmentation, tummy tucks, liposuction,

facelifts), orthopaedic surgery (knee and hip joint

replacements), general surgery (hernia repair,

varicose vein surgery), cardiac surgery (coronary

artery bypass grafts, stenting) and LASIK vision

corrective surgery. Dental procedures are also very

popular. Most patients for cardiac surgery are now

direct referrals from doctors in the United Kingdom,

an area Apollo is looking to expand on following

their appointment of a new head of cardiothoracic

surgery from the United Kingdom.

Many expatriates living in Sri Lanka have long taken

advantage of the high quality, a�ordable, private

health care that is available, so it is not unexpected

that foreign tourists should also discover these

bene"ts. Following neurosurgery for a benign

brain tumour at Asiri Hospital, travelsrilanka’s editor,

Richard Boyle, had nothing but the highest praise

for the standard of care he received. “Having a

brain tumour removed – even a benign one – can

be traumatic, but thanks to the con"dence of the

surgeon, the cheerful and helpful sta�, the pleasant

state of the hospital, and the state-of-the-art

equipment, I had no worries and was discharged

in just "ve days.”

Richard was equally impressed with the care he

was given following major orthopaedic surgery (a

bigliani shoulder implant) late last year at Apollo.

“I had an unfortunate experience at Apollo several

years back, but I was delighted to "nd that the

hospital is now totally di�erent, mainly due to

the Sri Lankan sta�, that muted the complicated,

painful but exactly executed surgery in the best

of conditions.” He should know – his father was a

Harley Street specialist and the head of a leading

London medical institute.

Medical tourism is not without its critics, however,

and many professional organizations in the

West advise against the idea of travelling abroad

for surgery. While concerns about long-term

follow-up and the development of possible

complications during travel home are legitimate,

do not be deterred by any perceived shortcomings

of the healthcare on o�er. The private hospitals

in Colombo that cater to international clients are

modern, well equipped and o�er a standard of care

at least comparable to what you will "nd in the

West. The specialists they employ are highly skilled

and invariably have had their postgraduate training

abroad. Nursing sta� are also highly trained, and as

Richard Boyle has previously remarked, “there is

nothing more pleasant than a typically gentle and

warm-hearted Sri Lankan in a nurse’s uniform”.

Nevertheless, if you are thinking about coming

to Sri Lanka for that knee replacement or getting

that tummy tuck, it is worth doing some thorough

research beforehand. Find out as much about the

actual procedure as possible, the quali"cations

and accreditations of the doctors and the hospital

itself. Make sure you address all of your questions

and concerns beforehand and get a "rm estimate

of costs and scheduling. Of particular importance

is the length of stay. Ideally, this should be long

enough to ensure that there are no complications

and that air travel back home is safe.

While for the moment Colombo remains the hub

of Sri Lanka’s medical tourism potential, a number

of impressive health facilities have opened in the

other major urban centres. I recently had a full dental

check-up, scaling and polish at a very modern private

dental clinic in Kandy – all for less than the cost of a

haircut in the West! The advent of medical tourism

in Sri Lanka is an exciting development and one that

holds tremendous promise for growth in the future.

Together with the island’s reputation for some of the

world’s "nest ayruvedic health spas, yoga centres

and meditation retreats, Sri Lanka now boasts a full

range of the latest conventional medical and surgical

treatments. O�ering healing for the mind, body and

soul, Sri Lanka is truly on its way to becoming the

complete health destination. *

For more information, see the Guide to Medical

Tourism in Sri Lanka at www.srilanka-medical.

com/medical-tourism.