Marcus RichardsGastric sleeve surgery is easily the most known weight loss operation there is. It is often also the last hope of regaining normality to people who have struggled with weight and weight-related health problems for a long time and not received enough help from less intrusive means.
Bariatric surgeries are anything but a new fashion trend, however travelling abroad to have a surgery in some other country keeps rising, boosting what is called „health tourism“.
Why do people leave?
One of the main reasons for this type of health tourism is the price of bariatric surgeries. As to gastric sleeve cost, London’s medium holds at £8088, with upper end easily reaching to £12.000+.
Gastric sleeve cost in Scotland is about the same, if not more expensive.
Second big asset of having gastric sleeve abroad is the time. More countries with many professional private clinics means cutting down on waiting lines which unfortunately keep piling up in UK. And even in best scenario, having surgery in UK still means spending more money.
And of course, there is the excellent reputation of several private bariatric clinics with customer feedback which makes them stand out and draw more people to choose them.
Where do they go?
While some still take longer routes across the continents to Turkey, for example, greater number of people from UK prefer countries much closer – Czech Republic, Poland or Latvia.
If you wanted to have gastric sleeve abroad, these would be your best options:
In private clinics in Latvia, gastric sleeve is just one of several bariatric procedures done daily, professionally, and confidentially.
In Weight Loss Riga clinic, gastric sleeve operation costs only £4980 and is all-inclusive. Just one of the added comforts – after a short 2-hour flight you will get transfer from airport to the hospital’s hotel, no extra charges.
Is it effective?
Is it effective, time, money, and quality wise, to have gastric sleeve or any bariatric surgery abroad?
- Time – while you may or may not spend less than half a year waiting for the surgery after first consultation in UK (this being the best-case scenario), clinics in Latvia may easily book you a date as fast as in a month.
- Money – while several European countries have bariatric surgery prices at the same level or even higher than UK, there are those with much smaller numbers. Poland, Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania – all have the prices around £5000-6000, but Latvia, while providing top quality service, brings it down below £5000. This means, even with travel expenses added, that you could easily save half of what you would have paid in your home country.
- Quality – Praise is spoken about clinics in Latvia by both medical experts and clients. Long-term experience, latest methods, high quality materials, comfort, and confidentiality with no language barriers.
In summary, choosing to have gastric sleeve abroad does pay off, with time, money, quality and a much happier future!
