Medical Tourism is the latest trend in the business of Gobal healthcare outsourcing and India is already racing ahead. Jacqueline and Patricia, two sisters from UK found India the best place to go for their Tummy Tuck surgery together.

When Jacqueline Roberts (69) and Patricia Neal (67), both sisters, decided to undergo cosmetic surgery together, little did they realise their dream will take them to India, thousands of miles away. Jacky wanted this surgery as her abdomen was scarred with three abdominal surgeries in last 25 years and Patricia readily agreed to be her companion in the whole process including getting operated along with.

Their research for Cost effective packages led them to India, when they read a story in ‘Daily Mail’ about a UK nurse, Anne Marie Jones, who traveled to Fortis Hospital, Mohali in January,2006 and came back very happy with her Tummy Tuck surgery. Anne Marie strongly recommended Dr K M Kapoor, Senior Consultant and Head, Dep’t of Cosmetic Surgery for this job and dispelled all their doubts about travel to India

Both landed in Delhi on 6th Nov and headed straight to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. They reached Mohali on 9th November after the brief vacation. They underwent all the necessary tests and anesthesia evaluation on the same day. They were originally scheduled for surgery on 10th and 11th respectively. But Patricia had different plans. She insisted that since they were doing everything together, both of them should be operated on the same day. It was a tough call but Dr K M Kapoor accepted this challenge. Jacqueline was operated on the morning of 10th November and Patricia in the afternoon. This is probably first time in the world that two sisters have undergone same cosmetic surgical procedure in a single day.

Post operatively, both recovered quickly and were on their feet with support on the very next day. After 5 days, both were discharged from the hospital. They are all praise for their doctor, nurses and supporting staff at Fortis Hospital. “This is the first time, we were treated so well in a hospital” says Jacqueline. “We were treated like royalty. So many people were at our beck and call” gushed Patricia. 

Medical tourism(MT) is the next big thing in India after IT success. According to a study by CII-Mckinsey, the revenue generation from Medical Tourism is expected to touch approx 2.1 billion dollars in India by 2011. Ashish Bhatia, COO, Fortis Hospital, Mohali said “ Fortis Hospital has maintained leadership position in medical tourism in this region. We can provide complete logistic support to a medical tourist right from Airport pickup to getting medical treatment and back