Medical Tourism in Cancun

Over the past five years, medical tourism in Cancun has seen its numbers increase since it is much less expensive for patients to have procedures done in Mexico than in their home country, says president of the Cancun Medical Tourism Association, Servando Acuña.

Servando Acuña explained that the region sees more than 10,000 patients per year who arrive mostly from the United States, Canada and Belize to have surgeries. These patients arrive for operations at the Galenia, Hospiten, Ameridem, and Costa Med de Cozumel hospitals.

He noted that a knee operation in the United States can cost a patient around $75,000, while here it is done for between $14,000 and $18,000 USD by skilled, quality doctors. He added that doctors and nurses in these facilities are bilingual and trilingual and in modern state-of-the-art facilities, a reason why Mexico medical tourism continues to attract patients.

Servando Acuña says that local doctors, anesthetists, nurses, and the people dedicated to rehabilitation are very skilled noting that they also treat those who come for cosmetic procedures. These people range in age from 25 to 65 years old.

Other treatments American and Canadians come for include cancer, which are done at the Cancun Oncology Center, and are also less expensive than treatments in their home countries. He says that a large majority however, arrive for things such as orthopedic knee and hip replacement with people between the ages of 55 and 65 being the largest clientele.