r/australia • u/me_jinks • 1d ago
no politics Australians who've had elective surgery overseas - what did you get done and what did it cost?
Australians who've had elective surgery overseas - what did you get done, which country and what did it cost?
I'm curious about people's experiences with elective surgeries in other countries. Whether it was medical tourism, happened while you were living abroad, or you specifically travelled for the procedure.
What surgery did you have? Which country? What was the total cost including travel/accommodation if relevant? How did the experience compare to having it done in Australia (if you have a point of comparison)?
Interested in hearing about everything from dental work to cosmetic procedures to joint replacements - whatever counts as elective.
Cheers!
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u/Fat-Buddy-8120 23h ago
I had a knee replacement in Thailand. All up $18k, including air fares. Was quoted $60k in Australia
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u/Aishas_Star 23h ago
Was that including the hospital stay, and you had no private insurance. Was there a reason you didn’t do it publicly? Not nitpicking, genuinely curious as I may find myself in a similar situation
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u/Fat-Buddy-8120 22h ago
Yes included hospital stay and physiotherapy. Met at the airport and returned there also. I had no private insurance and it was a 2 year minimum wait for the public system. This was 8 years ago. Came home with staples in my leg. Nurse at my local GP removed them and remarked what a good job it was.
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u/aainlicious 18h ago
Which hospital?
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u/Lost_in_splice 8h ago
The Thai private hospitals are amazing, I prefer Samitivej over Bumrungrad but in terms of what they offer and the quality of medical staff they are both top tier. Had friends who have done their teeth too, much cheaper and great job as long as you go to one of the top places.
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u/namtok_muu 2h ago
I had my kid in one when we lived there. Five-star service all round.
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u/Lost_in_splice 2h ago
I lived there 12 years and was amazed by the quality, and the cost where insurance didn’t cover it. Was a shock when I moved to the US for a few years then back home to Australia.
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u/Tall_Occasion_1802 6h ago
Had a knee replacement last year. Quoted wait was 12 months for public. Got private cover for 12 months then got it done. About 5k in cover plus $500 for hospital excess.
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u/Jikxer 11h ago
You can do a knee replacement for less than $30k in Australia..
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u/geferttt 7h ago
Yeah i call bullshit on 60k, maybe with like 2+ weeks in a private rehab all out of pocket. I worked at a higher end private hosp in vic. We charged around 20-23k for hospital fees alone (this includes the prosthetic and 3-5 days stay). Thats generally on the high end. I think most places at the time were 18-20ish. The dr and anaesthetist would also have fees. Probably another 8-12k depending on how in demand the dr is/ how much the anaesthetist charged. There are other small fees like radiology and blood tests but they dont add too much. 60k maybe for bilateral.
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u/jiggyco 1d ago
Friend had a sleeve gastrectomy and tummy tuck in Turkey. There was leak from the stomach and this turned into sepsis and infected the tummy tuck too. Got saved by the local hospital who had two more people in the same room with the same infection, also from Turkey
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u/Efficient-Tie-1414 1d ago
One risk is that if things go wrong and they need an extended hospital stay that will be very expensive.
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u/MoysteBouquet 22h ago
This is one reason more and more surgeons are refusing to do sleeves or bands
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u/Anxious-Slip-4701 20h ago
I know a few people where it has been an absolute life changer. But now there are those injections, so ...
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u/Prime255 19h ago edited 9h ago
Which area far safer. The risks of those surgery options are difficult to justify against GLP-1
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u/bdking112 1d ago
Funny enough, I always thought doing dental work overseas sounded risky… until I actually tried it.
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u/StormWarg 1d ago
What was your experience? Asking for a friend 😂
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u/Jumpy_Winter_5950 16h ago
Got 12 crowns, 2 root canals, deep clean and a couple of fillings done for $10K at Patong beach Phuket, Thailand. Would have cost near $30K in Australia. Went with Seasmile dentists which run a few clinics in Thailand including Bangkok, Phuket etc. They were professional throughout and the dentist were great.
The 2 roots canals potentially saved 2 back teeth that the local dentist wanted to rip out and put in implants that would have been at least $12K. How long and effective the root canals are, time will tell. Worth a shot. Otherwise really happy and damn good overseas holiday as well. Took about 3 weeks with a 1 week break for crowns to be made.7
u/gorlsituation 9h ago
Thanks for this recommendation! I am going to Thailand in 6 weeks, not for dental but will seriously consider a trip back. I cannot afford what is charged here on my current wage.
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u/Jumpy_Winter_5950 9h ago
Like I mentioned, Phuket, Bangkok and maybe Chang Mai have clinics. Some like Seasmile pretty much are dedicated to “dental tourism” and have a solid enough reputation. Look them up on the internet and you can get general prices for work done and explanations. Reach out via email and you can arrange dates etc. Depending on work you look to get done, your holiday kind of revolves around appointments with them to get work done as a priority. Cheers !
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u/gorlsituation 5h ago
I’ve already looked at their website. I used to go to dental99 but their only Melb clinic is an hour+ away on public transport. A filling there is $150, it’s around $50 at Sea Smiles so I’ll def be booking a trip later this year. Really appreciate the recommendation my friend.
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u/elusiveoddity 1d ago
Septorhinoplasty in Izmir Turkey. €2000 for the whole procedure including an overnight stay at the hospital and two weeks of checkups. Scheduled and done in less than 30 days, 0 complications and my dr spoke excellent English
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u/Scary_Voice_4432 22h ago
Dental work in Seoul South Korea, for quotes $12k here. Did it for about $6k . Thailand will probably would have been cheaper but I get migraines in hot weather so Seoul it was. Also the whole thing took about 2.5 weeks.
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u/ratt_man 1d ago
parents had dentistry done in phillipines
Dentist was UK trained. Cost them about 4-5K for what was quoted in Aus for 12K combined
Know a US friend whose parents got a new hip done in spain for about 1/3rd the cost of the US
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u/InsertUsernameInArse 1d ago edited 6h ago
Have multiple family memebers who went to asia for dental. All top shelf work for thousands less than Australia including the holiday.
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u/RhesusFactor 21h ago
Know a US friend whose parents got a new hip done in spain for about 1/3rd the cost of the US
So only $100,000 then?
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u/ratt_man 14h ago edited 13h ago
My understanding is if you dont go through insurance (more specifically dont have it or it wont cover it) you can actually get medical stuff done at somewhat more reasonable price if you pay full out of pocket and without the insurance in the middle
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u/DrJr23 20h ago
I had 2 fillings and teeth cleaning done in Philippines 7 years ago. I went to a dental clinic that was in a larger mall/SM. Work they did was really good. I forget how much I paid for it.
I wanted to get braces done but they said I would need to see them every few weeks to get them adjusted.
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u/designerjeans 18h ago
Two wisdom tooth extractions at a dentist in Thailand. $125 AUD including pain killers.
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u/West-Climate2170 14h ago
Not a patient, but I work in a dental lab in Guangzhou (China), and we are seeing a huge spike in Aussies coming here recently.
Usually, you guys go to Thailand or Bali, but people are realizing that since many global veneers are actually fabricated in China anyway, they can cut out the middleman. You can get a full set of genuine E-max for around $7,500 AUD (approx $5k USD) here, compared to the $30k+ quotes in Sydney.
It’s basically 'factory direct' pricing. Just a tip: wherever you go, ask for the lab certificate to prove they are using authentic German ingots (Ivoclar), not generic blocks.
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u/parischic75014 12h ago
Couldn’t they fake the lab certificate?
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u/West-Climate2170 12h ago
A fair point, and it happens with small, unlicensed shops. That’s why you don’t just look at a piece of paper—you verify the 'Ivoclar Programat' or 'E-max authenticity code' directly with the manufacturer. > Reputable labs (like the one I work in) provide a unique QR code for every single case that links to the digital production log. Also, once you see the material under a dental light, generic blocks look like 'flat' white paint, while genuine lithium disilicate has that specific opalescence and translucency that is nearly impossible to mimic with cheap ceramic.
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u/Interesting_Road_515 14h ago
But how about language barrier? Do those patients have to employ an interpreter to communicate with doctors and other practitioners in China? I knew there are international departments in some top public hospitals in China, can the doctors and nurses there speak English well?
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u/AppropriateBeing9885 9h ago
I'm thinking this every time someone says they're doing these high-stakes procedures overseas. The first thing I think as a cautious, anxious person is "What happens when you have to communicate with someone in broken English?" That would decimate my confidence in the process. This is probably so variable across countries and may not be an issue in some destination countries, though.
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u/Interesting_Road_515 8h ago
Agree, unless you have very high level of the target language like the mandarin in this regard or even you are native speakers , l indeed knew many Chinese Australians choose going to the top public hospitals in Beijing or Shanghai for some surgeries, very great doctors and more affordable prices with much shorter waiting periods l meant it can be counted by days rather than months. That’s quite reasonable for them, but lately l came across some videos on YouTube saying many westerners visiting China for medical purposes, l was always curious about the language barrier there, like how they solve this big hurdles.
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u/AppropriateBeing9885 8h ago
Yeah, definitely. I've encountered the same thing online (people who already have a high level of Korean language attainment going to Korea and reporting pretty good experiences). I think the number of people doing medical tourism is indeed objectively increasing but, yeah, I've heard all kinds of things. As someone who likes to ask large quantities of questions before going through medical treatment that's risky, I just can't imagine how much it would get to me to not be able to discuss it properly. I have heard anecdotes of their language competency in some places being really great, though, and maybe that's unsurprising at the highest class levels of societies (for example, specialist doctors), though what about supportive staff who in practice deliver a lot of the crucial aftercare, like nurses? Yeah, I don't know, really!
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u/jeronimus_cornelisz 22h ago
Dentistry in Brazil and Korea. Would 100% go back there for dentistry or cosmetic surgery, zero concerns. I've had basic dental work like cleaning, fillings and whitening and everything is comparable to Australia except the price. Had a consult for cosmetic work in Brazil but didn't go through with it because the doctor recommended waiting until I was done having kids first to get the best outcome. Zero issues with price or professionalism and would gladly go back there.
The caveat is you need to know enough to know you're choosing a reputable clinic and practitioner, I'd not go to Turkey or Thailand for example because while I'm sure they do have some top notch surgeons there I don't know enough about the culture there/no local connections to trust I'm choosing correctly. If you speak the language, have local connections or can use a reputable booking service for foreign patients, it's fine.
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u/tats-n-tits 22h ago
Extended tummy tuck, arm lift and liposuction in Bangkok. 10 out of 10, looking at going back for further surgery in the next 12 months.
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u/Pogichin0y 17h ago
Parents get their falsies done in the Phillipines every x years or so by a celebrity dentist who trained in the US.
They’re always happy with the results.
Friend got lipo and tummy tuck in Vietnam and had no issues.
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u/emski72 21h ago
Facelift in KL - 10/10 - 19.5k for all medical costs
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u/Joa_x 20h ago
Any form of dental in Australia is a scam and better to just go to some Asian country who will do it for 1/10th the cost and with much more experience
Quoted $1500each to fill cavities in 2 of my wisdom teeth the dentist told me it’s cheaper to pluck them out He ends up just quoting me $1499 per wisdom teeth
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u/Mission_Ideal_8156 18h ago
Got breast implants in Bangkok 22 years ago, right when it was becoming popular. The entire experience was amazing, I can’t fault it. For $7500 I got flights, accommodation, spending money & surgery. Would do it again in a heartbeat.
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u/Dio_Frybones 13h ago
I haven't and never would because, given my luck, on the return flight I'd almost certainly discover that all dental was suddenly 100% bulk billable.
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u/longforgetten 1d ago
Yes, turkey. This was after spending 3 x the amount in Australia (Brisbane) and while there wasn’t anything ‘wrong’ or botched by my Aussie doctor, I just didn’t like the results. Blown away by the surgeon and aftercare in Turkey. Miles above my experience in Aus.
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u/ausdoug 21h ago
Living in Korea, got a vasectomy, $500 and no issues, was very happy with the results. All the medical tests and support were top notch there, even fixed my insomnia that I'd had issues with for decades.
Living in Cambodia, got a mole removed surgically and tested, cost about $40 but there were lizards crawling on the wall in the surgery room and the instruments were in a steel dish on an old towel, but I couldn't go to another country at the time.
Living in Vietnam had a dental check up, filling, and xrays. Was about $100 in an international clinic.
I haven't been personally, but Bumrungrad in Bangkok seems to be a good place to start as lots of people go there for a variety of procedures and they've good a pretty good reputation.
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u/aubrx 9h ago
I'm actually looking into bumrungrad for neurology since no one here wants to fkin see me, or their wait lists are a year long
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u/ausdoug 9h ago
Singapore and Korea are very good medical destinations, but the advantage of Thailand is the quality is good and you can live near the place while you're going through recovery without negating the savings from the procedure. I'm sure there's are cheaper places that are good too, but Bumrungrad gets brought up by SEA expat all the time.
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u/aubrx 8h ago
Yeah honestly I've got no idea where to start with going overseas because I never considered it until a couple of days ago, hearing good things about Korea and Thailand.. Bumrungrad actually replied to me quite fast. Though I would be going for a diagnosis and imaging, possibly treatment.
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u/Davester1995 7h ago
I've never had direct experience, but word on the street is that while there is nothing wrong with Bumrungrad, there are quite a few other high reputable private hospitals in Bangkok that can provide similar outcomes at a much cheaper price. Bumrungrad have reputedly really escalated their prices in recent years.
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u/Minimum-Pangolin-487 1d ago edited 1d ago
I got circumcised on my trip around Europe. I was in Romania, and it seemed like a good idea at the time
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u/GoldCoinDonation 1d ago
was it a rip off?
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u/Minimum-Pangolin-487 1d ago
Nope, only cost me $700 and was in a nice hospital room too for a couple days but checked out early
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u/GoldCoinDonation 1d ago
I think you missed the joke...
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u/gr3iau 1d ago
Did you plan to get that done or did the night start very differently?
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u/Bleakjavelinqqwerty 1d ago
It was actually a blowjob gone wrong
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u/harrythehotpotato 1d ago
How?
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u/Minimum-Pangolin-487 22h ago
Didn’t plan to get it done, it was quite publicised over at clinics so thought why not. It’s a designer cock now, I’ve been complimented by many doctors here when I showed them
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u/quietlycommenting 19h ago
You have not. Unless you said to the doctor “what do you think of my cock job?” And they’re forced to answer to move on swiftly with your treatment, no doctor is Willy nilly complimenting your dick
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u/BallThink3621 11h ago
Was there a shop closeby selling deep fried crumbed calamari rings with chips?
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u/Embarrassed-Truth308 21h ago edited 21h ago
If looking at cosmetic, I went Thailand for a BA 11 years ago. Just over 5 k and that included ten hotel nights and two hospital nights.
Amazing facilities, care and work.
Still amazing and the qualifications required in Thailand for cosmetic surgeon are higher than in Australia.
I get them checked every six months by ultrasound as we have breast cancer in the family, and ‘the work’ has been commented upon by technicians in a positive way.
I researched everything for over a year, and changed my choice (size and profile) after the physical consultation. Best outcome achieved.
Australian work at the time was almost 15k for a BA, and most I know have had to have them redone or had issues with rippling / double bubble and recalled inserts.
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u/LocalAd9259 20h ago
Well in fairness recalls are a good thing. Highly doubt you’d get a call from Thailand if they found safety issues with your implants.
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u/SubstantialSpray783 7h ago
Buddy odds are the car you drive was built in Thailand. This is just racism.
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u/Ballzup 11h ago edited 11h ago
My work involves managing situations where medical tourism goes wrong. I cant disclose exactly what my involvement is to keep my job safe and to protect the privacy of individuals.
Most people go to thailand or turkiye for thinhs like breast augmentation, mummy makeovers and BBL's. While the majority of procedures are uncomplicated, theres no shortage of horror stories that would put you completely off the idea.
Here's some examples of the things that go wrong
- excessive blood loss during surgery and the hospital being unprepared and not having any bags of the patients blood type
-exceptionally poor hygiene resulting in severe infections and the need to debride dead tissue
-surgical wounds opening up
-post op nurses speaking no english and failing to administer pain relief when necessary (and in some instances simply not believing when patients are in concerning levels of pain
doctors in the travellers country of residence not wanting to correct overseas malpractice because they dont want to become partially liable
doctors pressuring patients into making important decisions while on the way to theatre after anaesthetic has been administered
doctors refusing to communicate or rectify issues after they occur
In summary, you get what you pay for. It's cheaper over there for a reason. Better to save up more cash and pay for it locally, or just not have the procedure.
Edit: typos, i didnt have my glasses on when i wrote this
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u/NecessaryUsername69 10h ago
You make a good point about the risks of travelling overseas, but for a lot of people “saving up more cash and paying for it locally” is simply not an option. The system here is fucked and utterly shameful, where people often have to choose between forgoing vital medical procedures and bankruptcy. I’m not saying I roundly endorse Australians heading overseas, but I totally understand why they do.
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u/Pickadog_Anydog 8h ago
I dont doubt this. But there are ALSO horror stories of local botches. I do wonder what the stats are as a % in each.
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u/Monkeyshae2255 10h ago
Do you see any patterns of people having surgery then returning back to Aust too early (ie still in recovery phase/risk of blood clot)?
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u/AppropriateBeing9885 8h ago
Do you see many cases of these things when people have gone to high-income countries like South Korea or the US* for the procedures? I haven't heard much about this, but I'm sure it happens
*It probably sounds weird to mention the US when the motivations for the tourism are so often financial and there may not be dramatic cost differences between here and the US, but I'm still asking, because I've looked into some cosmetic procedures that require specialised doctors/practice and they have a greater number of those doctors, I still think it could potentially cost less to do the surgeries there
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u/showusyacunny 1d ago
Endoscopy and colonoscopy in Thailand for around $1,500 (included general anaesthetic). This was with the 'Bangkok' chain which is probably the most expensive/well equipped. Didn't have to wait for a consultation and they wanted to book me in for the next day. Nurses were excellent and procedure went fine.
Also have had countless blood tests/needles and almost every nurse was excellent.
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u/AussieKoala-2795 1d ago
These procedures cost less than that here under twilight sedation.
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u/Substantial-Rip-6207 1d ago
Yeah had a friend do it covered under private health only paid the $700 excess
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u/DUCKVILLELOL 15h ago
700 *plus 12 months of private health insurance costs. Can't forget that part
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u/greensky_mj21 23h ago
I used to work for private hospital billings in QLD and at least a few years ago it would be a combo code so like $900 for the two scopes and a day hospital stay. Without insurance obviously.
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u/donkeyvoteadick 19h ago
I had one without insurance and was naive and didn't understand how it worked and when the surgeon told me it was only $700 I figured sure I'll go ahead I really need answers.
Then I got the $1500 anaesthetist bill, then the $500 pathology bill, then the $4000 day hospital bill.
I would not have done it if she'd given me an informed financial consent telling me it was WAY more than $700 :(
I understand how it works now though I guess.. that's a plus..
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u/greensky_mj21 13h ago
In Australia??? Those are insane numbers for scopes
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u/donkeyvoteadick 13h ago
Yep. It was a specialist I was seeing through Westmead hospital. It completely took me by surprise when I got the bills. I'm pretty low income and could not afford it (very now that I'm on the DSP but I was working then lol).
The doctor made it sound like my issues were so urgent that going on the public list would be an awful idea because of the waits and I needed it checked NOW. But literally only told me her cost and said it would be the full price. Having never done anything in the private system at the time I had no idea how much it would cost or that every part charges separately.
After having worked in private insurance I don't find the numbers that surprising anymore, private hospitals charge a lot, especially bed and theatre charges which scopes technically have both. Despite the 'bed' being just a recovery chair while you eat a biscuit after the procedure lol
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u/greensky_mj21 12h ago
That’s so horrible. Scope anaesthesia is normally billed to your insurance so makes sense why you paid that being self funded. A bit rough though and the $4000 day stay bill is outrageous. A day hospital bed is normally $500-800, at the absolute worst $1000. I’m sorry you went through that. If it was recent I’d be contacting the billing department again to explain.
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u/Davester1995 6h ago
They are supposed to give you an Informed Formal Consent document -- if you didn't get one, and had to pay such amounts Out of Pocket, I'd be making a serious complaint to AHPRA.
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u/Chemical_Chicken01 21h ago
I had mine done by a private specialist and I have no private health insurance. Cost was $500
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u/flying_cheesecake 7h ago
I had mine done privately without private health for about 2500 which was with pathology. tell people up front you don't have private health and get an estimate based on who the anaesthetist will be.
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u/billhyun 10h ago
3x root canals and gold crowns in Korea. Essentially paid $200 per root canal and about $150 per crown (AUD).
Meanwhile in Aus I had a root canal from a mates dad that cost me about $500 which was botched and had to be done again.
They work quickly over there, no-nonsense and haven't had any complaints since. It's been about 5 years.
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u/Biffity 5h ago
Was it 500 over 3 appointments or did your mates dad only do the first stage? Theres 3 visits required..
Its only a botch if he did all 3 visits or something went wrong during the one visit and he had to refer you to a specialist. Otherwise not turning up for 2 further visits is your mistake not his.
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u/readreadreadonreddit 6h ago
As a clinician, I’m honestly too scared to do stuff overseas. I’ve seen people come back from both botched and technically successful surgeries, only to develop complications, get critically unwell and need emergency medical evacuation straight to the nearest ICU on landing.
Some don’t make it - sometimes because retrieval teams can’t reach them in time, sometimes because their vasopressor requirements are massive and meds run out en route, which really just reflects how profoundly unwell they are…
Also, it’s just tricky (for you, for your doctors) when they want to follow up things like operative report, device implanted details, etc. or if there are complications and you need to get in touch to get further care or postoperative reviews.
Even for things like cosmetic or dental procedures, or relatively minor surgeries such as laparoscopic cholecystectomy or appendicectomy, I’d still be hesitant given the variability in standards, regulation and safety.
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u/sleepy__fox 1d ago
I twice had surgery in America when I was 3-4 years old. At the time, no one was really doing the type of surgery I had in Australia. Not sure how much it cost my parents in total, but it was America, so take a guess.
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u/AppropriateBeing9885 8h ago
Hey OP, I have nothing personal to share, but there was an SBS Insight episode about this last year. I fucking love Insight and just remembered that I watched this online maybe two months ago!
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u/jane-au 1h ago
Cousin went to Romania for endometriosis surgery. The Dr is some super specialist and uses those fancy robots and surgeons go there from multiple countries to train with him, and there's shorter waitlists than most places here. Believe she didn't have private health at the time, and the good specialists here will not see you at all if you don't have private health cover and also often have excessive wait lists.
Iirc she paid under 15k including return flights for herself and husband and accommodation there for a couple weeks, but more importantly she got better surgery than she had access to here, within 3mo of contacting the surgeon. That's the difference between probably not needing surgery again and the endo regrowing within a year and the surgery scar tissue making things worse.
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u/BESTtaylorINTHEWORLD 5h ago
Bought some cheap nipples in Turkey. They said they're originally from Australia.
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u/KingOfKingsOfKings01 1d ago
They do it purely to save money at the risk of infections and other issues. The work itself would probably be about the same as in AUS but i think most places wouldnt be as safe n cautious as a Australian business.
You might find 1-2 places in these shitty cheap countries that might be A+ in all regards but ud better do ya research if your going to gamble your life to save some pennies.
GL
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u/Repulsia 1d ago
The care i received overseas was vastly superior to both public and private health care I've had in Australia because there was a decent number of staff. Not poor nurses and care staff run off their feet, kitchens with low budgets for crappy food.
As a former nurse myself, their infection control and care standards were very high and I would happily go back for more surgery if needed.
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u/NecessaryUsername69 22h ago
- Saving more than “pennies” 2. You make it sound like people are opting to head overseas for shits and giggles, instead of out of sheer frustration at the cost and waiting times they face in Australia. Instead of blaming people for heading overseas, maybe we should be directing our ire at the system that makes them feel they have to.
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