WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY IN COLOMBIA

Hi!, my name is William Westwood, I’m a journalism student. I’ve been doing a lot of research about the problem of obesity in USA, last month I had the opportunity to meet some WLS specialists in Colombia, and I wrote this article that I would like to share with you.


WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY IN COLOMBIA: AN AFFORDABLE OPTION

Morbid Obesity is growing at a very high rate in the United States, luckily so is its solution. Each day more Americans undergo weight loss surgeries to counteract obesity and its fatal consequences.

There is a wide range of surgical options to reduce Morbid Obesity in American patients: the Lap-Band, the Gastric Balloon, the Sleeve Gastrectomy and the premier of all, the Gastric Bypass. The cost of the Gastric Bypass and other Bariatric Surgical procedures in the United States oscillate between US$25.000 and US$40.000.

Most surgeries performed in the United States are covered by Health Insurance Companies but there are many other cases in which people do not have Health Insurance or even worse, people have been rejected to have a WLS by their insurance company!!

For these specific cases among others, countries like Mexico, Brazil and Colombia offer to perform, through their well renowned physicians and specialists, all the above surgical techniques. For the last years these practices have grown at a fast pace and thousands of these surgeries are performed annually in these countries.

“I’m a totally different person right now, I already lost 210 lbs, thanks to Dr. Mikler and all the Bye Bye Obesity Staff” said Patrick Campbell who recently traveled to Colombia for a Gastric Bypass Surgery.

Campbell started his research first by consulting friends and obesity support groups before choosing a bariatric surgeon and then decided to go to Colombia. Total cost of his surgery: US$ 13.950.

This same surgery in the United States would have cost him twice or even three times more. He took a loan with one of several Financial Companies specialized in medical procedures and he is now paying around US$200.00 per month.

According to the Ministry of Commerce and Tourism, Colombia is enjoying a tourist boom that brought more than a million visitors to the country last year.

“Each day more people are coming to Colombia, at least 5% come to receive different medical treatments, including WLS,” said Jimmy Zeigen, representative of ByeByeObesity, a company specialized in offering WLS in Colombia. This company offers all inclusive packages for patients coming for these types of surgeries. The package includes Air/ground transportation of the patient, Pre-op exams with the best doctors and in state-of-the-art hospitals, nursing, post-op treatments, travel insurance, hotel accommodations and tourist guides. “Patients do not have to worry about anything from the moment they leave their home until they go back, we take care of everything,” adds Mr. Zeigen.

Colombia has gained a high reputation as an excellent plastic and bariatric surgery destination, even more once Diego Armando Maradona, the Argentinean soccer star lost several pounds after undergoing Stomach-Stapling surgery in Cartagena, Colombia.

For more information please visit: www.byebyeobesity.com


William Westwood
willwestwood@yahoo.com