How to avoid the Credit Crunch and choose safe and sensible cosmetic surgery

Opt for McIndoe Surgical Centre.

We don’t compromise on patient safety.

We are proud of our clinical outcomes .

Our fixed price packages offer excellent value for money!

 

As we become inundated with doom and gloom as a credit crunch looms it’s difficult to know what to do for the best. Whilst we can use the facilities of Motley Fool to get a better mortgage deal or source the best deal from our gas and electricity suppliers with the help of Gocomapre.com.  One thing you definitely shouldn’t compromise on is the quality of your healthcare.  As many overseas cosmetic providers and clinics try and tempt you with a cheap operation and holiday thrown in, can you really be confident in the quality of care you will receive, or indeed the aftercare when the suntan has long faded? 

 

In a number of cases, cosmetic surgery patients who have travelled aboard in their quest for ‘cheaper surgery’ have been okay.  However, at the McIndoe Surgical Centre it’s fair to say we have seen a number of patients who haven’t been that lucky.  A cheaper procedure such as a breast augmentation, abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), or even brachioplasty (some of you may refer to yours as ‘Bingo Wings’ or  ‘Dinner Ladies Arms’ ) may sound a good idea at the time……but what IF, something goes wrong? 

 

• Have you fully considered aftercare, wound checks, stitch removal ?
• What if you were to get  a blood clot or infection ?
• What’s the cost of   second of third flight back to the country where your surgery was performed ?
• Whose going to pay for any revision surgery should this be required? 

 

All these elements are so important and should be fully considered, So if you think an operation abroad may seem the cheaper option, factor in any of the above complications and then do your sums!

 At McIndoe Surgical Centre we pride our self on the quality of care we offer to our patients.  That’s not just the care leading up to surgery, but the care you receive whilst you are an in-patient and after discharge. We recognise the importance of after care,   and it’s not something we will charge again and again for.

 All our patients can be confident that they will see the consultant of their choice, who will assist them through their ‘cosmetic journey.’  This will involve at least one thorough consultation, whereby a full medical history will be taken, an examination performed in a courteous caring manner, with nurse chaperone if appropriate and a letter to your GP.  We then like to ask you to wait a couple of weeks before proceeding with surgery.  The majority of you will have a second consultation at no additional charge so the consultant can confirm your expectations are realistic and answer any further questions you may have.  Once satisfied you will be offered a date for surgery, and if necessary, offered an appointment to see on our pre-assessment nurses.

 A fixed price for your surgery will be agreed following your consultation with your surgeon.  His/her secretary will write to you to confirm this.  The fee will be inclusive of hospital charges (items such as theatre time, room, drugs, dressings and catering for yourself), the surgeons fee for performing the surgery and the anaesthetists fee.  Included in this fee is a 30 day guarantee so in the unlikely event you need to be re- admitted to the McIndoe as a direct result of the surgery you have had,  they would not be any additional charges. 

 If within a year you were still having problems and you had spoken to your surgeon and he/she agreed that revision surgery was appropriate you would be offered further revision treatment/surgery at no additional cost.  Now that can’t be bad thing can it?   As an example dog ears from scarring can be quite common following abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) procedure.  Our advice is not to sit at home and worry it, contact us and these can be trimmed off in a simple out patient procedure.  All our surgeons take their work very seriously and would not want any of our patients to be unduly worried.  Can you put a price on such care?  Well you can at McIndoe, it is all part of our competitively  priced cosmetic procedures packages.

 If you are considering surgery but would like to speak to one of your chosen surgeon’s patients first before making such a commitment – well we can help you with that to – at no extra charge.

 Or should you decide that surgery is not for you – providing you haven’t been put to sleep by the anaesthetist, then we will give you a full refund on your surgery expenses. 

 It is worth speaking to McIndoe Surgical Centre before you go abroad or opt for cheaper alternatives. We are a hospital specialising in cosmetic, plastic and reconstructive surgery.  All our surgeons have or have held NHS posts.  All are on the specialist register on the General Medical Council.  We are one of the UK’s largest hospitals specialising in plastic, cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. Some of you may even have seen us on Extreme Makeover, currently being re-shown  on Sky’s Living TV.

 If you would like to find out more before committing to a consultation fee then why not attend one of our free informal cosmetic evenings?  These are a great way to meet our surgeons in a relaxed atmosphere and find out more about any procedure(s) you are considering.

 Why choose McIndoe? – In summary, because we represent value for money and offer high quality patient care.  98% of our patients recommend us as being either very good or excellent. A statistic we are delighted with, not that it stops us from reaching the other 2%!

  

Ask yourself  - Can I really afford to compromise on my health?

 

McIndoe Surgical Centre	Other cosmetic Providers
FREE - 30 day guarantee after you have had surgery in case of the unlikely event of complications directly related to your procedure	May charge extra, or not offer this service to the patient
FREE - 1 year guarantee for revision surgery (subject to terms and conditions of the fixed price package)	May charge extra, or not offer this service to the patient
FREE - 2nd consultation	May charge extra, or not offer this service to the patient
NO deposit to pay to ‘hold your surgery’	Will usually ask for a payment up front.  Not always fully refundable
At McIndoe all our consultations are consultant led by the consultant surgeon of your choice. NO pressure from sales advisors or cosmetic sales team	Will generally have a team of nurse or sales advisors, advising you of surgical options. They may be reasonable for assessing you and booking you into surgery before you actually see a consultant.
Full surgical refund available up until the time you have been anaesthetised	Will usually not offer a refund if surgery is cancelled on the day.  May have a sliding scale deposit arrangement depending on when surgery cancelled or if it is to be rebooked
FREE – access to medical advice 24 hours a day	May have provision in place.  Not always so easy to access especially following surgery abroad
FREE – option to speak to past patients who have been treated by the plastic surgeons and the McIndoe Surgical Centre	May be possible to offer this service free of charge
FREE – open evenings and hospital events.	Some providers offer patients the chance to attend free presentations,  other may require a small booking fee to secure the place

 

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 24th, 2008 at 4:30 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.