「经济学人」Health tourism

Growing numbers are heading abroad for cosmetic and other medical procedures

Audrey and Sarah Thompson are poring over a notebook during a break from browsing stands at the Health Tourism Expo in Westminster. Sarah is in the market for some cosmetic dental work. Her mother is investigating weight-loss procedures. After speaking to a few providers—including some they know from Instagram—the Londoners are building a checklist. Does the company seem professional? Are the salespeople too pushy? They add one more: do the clinics, which are in Turkey, provide a translator?

Around 431,000 people from Britain sought medical treatment abroad in 2023, five times more than a decade ago, according to the Office for National Statistics. They travel for hair transplants, dental veneers and nose jobs, as well as more serious procedures such as hip replacements. They are enticed by slick social-media marketing, word-of-mouth recommendations and all-inclusive packages costing as little as £2,000 ($2,560).

Price is central to the pitch from the 80-odd Turkish clinics (plus a handful from other countries) at the expo in February: high-quality private care at a fraction of the cost in Britain. Most tout hair and dental work; a few offer more exotic services such as “cosmetic gynaecology”. The Hermest Hair Clinic says it’s only one of about 3,000 hair-transplant providers in Istanbul; it estimates that 95% of clients are foreign. Some operators highlight the perk of a few days in the sun to accompany an invasive procedure. “In London it’s always raining,” observes a salesman for the Baskent University Healthcare Group.

The travel was definitely a bonus, says Neale, a charity worker from London, who undertook two Turkish trips last year to fix some long-standing dental problems. After inheriting money, he spent £12,000 on crowns, travel, accommodation, food and booze. Based on quotes, Neale reckons that the treatment would have cost roughly double in Britain. Three months after returning home, he marvels at the “state of the art” clinic in Antalya, a hub for Turkish health care. “The equipment in there looks like something out of ‘Terminator’,” he says. The only hitch was the clinicians’ poor English.

At the hotel where he stayed between appointments, most residents seemed to be having some kind of treatment, according to Neale. He paints a picture of a post-op party atmosphere where patients-cum-holidaymakers bond over their shared discomforts, with special soup laid on for bariatric-surgery recovery and soft food for those getting to grips with their new set of zirconium teeth.

Yet there are risks. Faced with bandaged Brits at Turkish check-ins, Wizz Air has trained staff to ensure passengers are fit to fly. The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), a lobby group, says 324 people required corrective surgery upon returning from overseas in the four years to 2022. And at least 28 Brits have died in Turkey following medical procedures since 2019, according to the British government. Neither BAAPS nor the government has comparable data for deaths following cosmetic procedures in Britain.

British doctors complain about the burden of foreign misadventures. The NHS “can’t be expected to correct a procedure that has gone wrong,” says Professor Vivien Lees, vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Still, some of the medical tourists from Britain relieve pressure on the health service back home. And the experience of private medicine overseas is often a step up from the “take what you’re given” attitude back home. “If you want more, you have to pay,” concludes Audrey Thompson.

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Nip and Turk”(Apr 10th 2025)

我没有译文，仅供拓展阅读

LearnAndRecord

2015年2月8日

2025年4月17日

第3722天

每天持续行动学外语