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2 R SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2019 | | The Mix E11 When to stay Sometimes you’ll want to stay in the coun- try. That’s what I discovered when I sought treatment for my vision problems recently. I had a complicated prescription and suffered from splitting headaches. I consulted with some of the best eye sur- geons in the western United States. Their diagnosis wasn’t hopeful. Since I’d already had LASIK in both eyes back in 2008, they were reluctant to operate again. All of them recommended just living withmy current vision— except one. That doctor happened to be based in Southern California. So in January, I rented an apartment in Studio City and took an Uber to his clinic, where he performed a procedure called photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) to fix my vision. Needless to say, this is not how you save money as a medical tourist. But you can’t arguewith the results. I’m looking at my computer screenwithout glass- es. with high-quality medical systems, training and technology, but I have even taken care of patients with serious complications from surgery undertaken in European countries. Cosmetic surgery is still significant surgery and requires specialized training to be per- formed safely,” says Joshua Zuckerman, a New York plastic surgeon. It’s not enough to find a doctor with posi- tive reviews on social media. Look for board certifications that show your medical practi- tioner is a real expert. Also, check the state’s medical-board website to find out if your physician is in good standing. When to go Some destinations are worth considering for medical tourism, according to the editors at International Livingmagazine, a publica- tion for American expatriates. Take Costa Rica, for example, a country that abolished its army and dedicated part of themoney to health care. Nownearly 15%of international tourists visit Costa Rica for services per- formed by highly trained, bilingual doctors. “Most of the top plastic surgeons are locat- ed in the medical centers in or near the capi- tal of San Jose, where medical tourists save 45% to 65%on procedures compared to back home,” says Kathleen Evans, International Living’s Coastal Costa Rica correspondent. You can even save money on procedures such as LASIK surgery. In Costa Rica, she says prices range from$1,600 to $2,000— for both eyes. “The licensed eye surgeons who performLASIK in Costa Rica receive the same level of ophthalmology schooling as in North America and are using the same state- of-of-the-art, high-tech equipment that you would find back home,” she adds. The conventional wisdom seems to be that if your procedure is relatively simple and the doctor checks out, youmight want to consid- er becoming a medical tourist. By CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT Special to The Seattle Times Bill and Eleanor Seavey run a small inn near Hearst Castle in California, but when they go on vacation, they head south. In a fewweeks, they plan to visit Los Algodones, Mexico, just across the border fromYuma, Arizona, for some sun— and dental work. “Many of their dentists are trained in the U.S.,” says Bill Seavey. “We can get work done for about one-third of the U.S. prices. Our local dentist actually recommendedwe go there.” Los Algodones, also known as “Molar City,” is a small town in northern Baja California that caters to American and Canadian tour- ists trying to escape the high cost of medical care. Bonus: Yuma also holds the record for being the sunniest place in America. Combining a vacationwith amedical proce- dure is becomingmore popular. Anew study byWiseGuy Reports, amarket research com- pany, predicts theworldwidemedical tourism market will grow from$56 billion in 2018 to $136 billion in 2023. Here’s what you need to know about medi- cal tourism: There’s a time to go south and a time to stay closer to home. You don’t want to cut corners on some procedures. The risks are real There are real risks to combining a vaca- tion and a medical visit. Consider the recent investigation of aMiami plastic-surgery clinic by USA Today and the Naples Daily News. It found a clinic run like a factory assembly line, where poorly trained doctors line up patients and operate on as many as eight a day. In the past six years, the clinic and a nearby facility overseen by the same doctor have lost eight patients. That’s why it’s so important to carefully screen any doctor or facility you’re consider- ing. “I would suggest patients seek countries When it comes to medical tourism, are the savings worth the risks? TRAVEL WISE TRAVEL MA R K H E N L E / T H E A R I Z ON A R E P U B L I C , F I L E Dee Morgan, of California, waits for Dr. Bernardo Magana, left, to install her den- tures in his office in Los Algodones, Mexico. STARTS FRIDAY SEATTLEREP.ORG “A theatrical hug in turbulent times” -VAR I ETY MEDIA SPONSOR SEASON SPONSOR TITLE SPONSOR BEAUTIFUL T I N Y T H I N G S BASED ON THE BOOK BY CHERYL STRAYED DIRECTED BY COURTNEY SALE ADAPTED FOR THE STAGE BY NIA VARDALOS FRIDAY | MAY 31 VINEYARD DINNER KIONA VINEYARDS SATURDAY | JUNE 1 WINE & MUSIC FESTIVAL COL SOLARE SAMPLE WINES FROM 20+ WASHINGTON STATE WINEMAKERS ENJOY LIVE MUSIC BENEFITING: SEATTLE CHILDREN’S WSU VITICULTURE AND ENOLOGY PROGRAM FOR TICKETS & INFO: AuctionofWaWines.org Must be 21 or older to attend WITH SUPPORT FROM: SPONSORED BY: