With hip replacement surgery, there can be a failure of the prosthesis, infection around the wound, excessive bleeding or anesthetic complications. With hip resurfacing surgery, there still can be excess bleeding or infection. Anesthetic complications are rare but are still possible with any type of general anesthesia. It takes a period of time to recover from these surgeries and physical therapy is almost always required.

The cost of a hip replacement depends on the cost of the replacement hip and can range between $4000 and $6000. This doesn’t include hospital costs which run in the range of a thousand or more dollars per day. Total costs are in the range of $20,000. If you go overseas, the cost savings can be 60 to 80 percent.

Thailand is known for its excellent orthopedic surgery. Doctors are skilled in the one to two hour procedure that costs a total of $10,000 USD-$12,000 for a seven day hospital stay and the surgery. The prosthesis costs are between $600 and $5,500 USD. The procedure is exactly the same as the procedure done in the US but at a cost savings of 50 percent.

Doctors in India perform hip resurfacing, a procedure just recently approved by the US FDA but approved in many countries overseas. In such a procedure the hip joint is resurfaced and the arthritic components are removed, resulting in a smoother hip joint without having to replace the joint itself. The cost is only about $5500 and the recovery time is easier than with a total hip surgery.

Argentina's medical system and health care facilities are generally of a high standard compared to other Latin American countries. As of 1999, it is estimated that there are estimated 3 doctors per 1,000 people. The population has access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation. The doctors there are skilled at hip replacement and hip resurfacing at a fraction of the cost of US procedures.

For further information…contact MedPath Group for a free quote.