RP has edge in medical tourism, says local firm

IMED Inc., a local company engaged in the distribution of various surgical products, aesthetics and cosmetic supplies, is encouraging more foreigners to visit the Philippines for medical tourism purposes.

IMED owners Bom and Ilse Chan said foreigners have one more reason to seek cheap and safe medical treatment in the country.

"The Philippines is now ready to offer obesity solutions for those who are considered "morbidly obese," Bom Chan said.

He said Filipino doctors have gained expertise in doing bariatric surgery, which is also known as bib or lap-band surgery.

These two procedures basically limit the food intake of obese patients, thus allowing them to lose weight which they have otherwise been unable to shed through normal diet and exercise.

The cost of such surgery in the Philippines is about 50 percent less than what it would cost in the US or other developed countries, Chan pointed out.

In the Philippines, a non-surgical bib implant would cost around P150,000 while a lap-band laparoscopic surgery would start at around P300,000.

Elsewhere, the procedures would cost twice as much, he added.

IMED supplies the bib and lap-band which it gets from global supplier INAMED.

For further information on obesity solutions, IMED and INAMED recently opened a Bib & Lap-band Center in Makati. The center would also bring together doctors specializing in the procedure and obese patients seeking a permanent solution to their weight problem.

However, Chan stressed that bariatric surgery should not be used for aesthetic and cosmetic purposes. Instead, he said the procedure is intended to solve a health-threatening problem that could lead to such diseases as hypertension and Type 2 diabetes, among others.