A 38-year-old woman from Khabarovsk, Russia, suffered from infertility
throughout her 20-year marriage. After a series of unsuccessful
pregnancies and two miscarriages, she consulted doctors in Russia, but
could not determine the cause. Earlier this year, she came to a hospital
in Seoul and realized that her fertility complications were caused by a
reduction in the blood supply in her placenta due to problems with her
immune system. In April this year, she underwent a successful in vitro
fertilization process. She has now been pregnant for 27 weeks and plans
to return to Russia now that it is safe to travel.
The above is just one example of the way in which the number of inbound
medical tourists has been rising rapidly over the past few years.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on
May 20, 210,000 non-Korean patients from 191 nations received medical
treatment in Korea in 2013. This is an increase of 32.5 percent from the
159,464 in 2012, and is a 3.5-fold increase over 2009's figures.
Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi
(right), comforts Omar, an eight-year-old boy who was suffering from
hypoplastic anemia, an incurable blood disease. The boy underwent bone
marrow transplant surgery in Korea. He is now receiving outpatient
treatment. (photo courtesy of the Catholic University of Korea, Seoul
St. Mary's Hospital)
By nationality, 57,075 Chinese patients were treated in Korea in 2013,
followed by 32,750 Americans, 24,026 Russians, 16,849 Japanese and
12,034 Mongolians. Most of all, the number of inbound Russian patients
increased by nearly 46 percent in 2013 over the previous year.
A bilateral agreement to send more patients from the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) to Korea helped the number of inbound UAE patients rise.
The number of inbound UAE patients more than doubled, from 342 in 2012
to 1,151 in 2013. In addition, there is a steady increase in the number
of patients from Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Uzbekistan.
(Top) A patient from the UAE had been suffering from high blood
pressure and obesity, and recently had a kidney transplant at the Seoul
National University Hospital. Now, he is receiving immunosuppressive
treatment. (Bottom) A Mongolian baby was diagnosed with pneumonia and
with a ventricular septal defect, coupled with pulmonary hypertension.
(photos courtesy of Seoul National University Hospital)
The type of treatments most commonly sought by overseas patients are
internal medicine procedures, including problems with the digestion and
circulatory systems. They accounted for 68,453 patients, making up 24.4
percent of last year's medical tourists. Some 28,135 patients, or 10
percent, came for just a general health check, while 25,101 people, or 9
percent, had dermatological treatments for skin problems. A total of
24,075 patients, 8.6 percent, sought cosmetic surgery, while 15,899
patients, or 5.7 percent, used Seoul's gynecological services.
Chinese patients sought plastic surgery, dermatological and internal
medicine procedures, in that order. One out of four Chinese patients
received plastic surgery or skin treatments. Russian patients came for
internal medicine procedures, general health checks, gynecological
checkups, general surgery and dermatological treatments, in that order.
Also, it was found that many Russian patients had dire symptoms related
to cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
The number of inbound foreign patients, the types of treatments they seek and their nationalities.
By Limb Jae-un
Korea.net Staff Writer
jun2@korea.kr
[Source: korea.net]