Some of us will turn inward and will seek ways to set goals and fit more into our ever hectic schedules. Many will be trying to fight the holiday bulge and race off the gym holding steadfastly to our resolutions. The holiday retail numbers were strong, economic indicators are improving and even the typically droll economists are optimistic about 2011.

• Will 2011 be the year that you take care of those lagging health problems? One in five Americans put off going to the doctor due to the economic climate, so demand for procedures such as knee arthroscopy or a hip replacement is likely to increase.
• Will this be the year that you finally get over the fear of the dentist? Prothodontists can help restore your smile through implants, bridges and fixtures, while Cosmetic Dentistry deliver an entire “smile makeovers”- filling in gaps, veneers, whitening teeth, etc.
• Or will this be the year that you will finally has that cosmetic surgery procedure done? Newer methodology for facelifts and eye lifts (Blepharoplasty) utilizing a laser can significantly lower downtime and get you back to work looking refreshed in no time.

The year has just begun – what do you want to with it?

Dr. Rosales of ObesityFree has specialized in – Gastric Sleeve and Adjustable Gastric Band – because the best results have come from these procedures, while also being safer with less complications and side effects. Dr. Rosales received an Invasive Surgery Fellowship at the Christus Health Group in Monterrey, Mexico and has been specializing in these procedures for the past five years. The surgeries are performed at the JCI Accredited facility of the Christus Health Group in Monterrey, Mexico. Dr. Rosales is a member of the Member of the Mexican Association of Endoscopic Surgery, AMCE and is also a Board Certified Surgeon with the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Certified for Advanced Trauma and Life Support.

Please visit their page for more details.

Chihuahua Cathedral

MedVoy visits the Chihuahua Medical Cluster

The Chihuahua Medical Cluster in Chihuahua Mexico (less than a two hour flight from Houston), is a collaboration of the government, business, and medical community to provide high-quality medical care and to become a global leader in international healthcare.

With a strong colonial heritage, Chihuahua has a legacy of three centuries of hospitals and plans are already underway for additional hospitals. Meetings with Chihuahua Mayor Alvaro Guillermo Madero MuÒoz and Secretary of Tourism, Minister Hector Valles also unveiled plans for future tourism initiatives – a highlight being a Swiss-made tram being installed in Copper Canyon later this spring. Copper Canyon, a group of canyons twice as deep and five times longer than the Grand Canyon, is an unspoiled gem with breathtaking scenery.

For more photos of hospitals and Copper Canyon, please click here.

CIMA Hospital Chihuahua

CIMA Hospital is an international partnership of US and Mexican investors and the 150 physicians who practice at CIMA. Already ISO 9000 certified, CIMA Hospital is undergoing the JCI accreditation process, to be completed in June 2010.

Executive Wellness Screenings utilize GE Millennium MG Nuclear Imaging Environment (GENIE), which provides an intuitive user interface that goes well beyond the nuclear stress test. The General Health Council recently awarded CIMA Chihuahua the most important recognition in Mexico – recertification as a high-specialty hospital – and the Mexican Association of Private Hospitals has also recognized it as a Hospital of Excellence. Other specialties are: Bariatrics, Plastic Surgery, Cardiology, Angiology, Endoscopies, Orthopedics, Angioplasty, Lung and Heart Transplants.

Oncology Center of Chihuahua

Part of the CIMA Hospital Center, Oncology Center of Chihuahua is a brand-new, holistic, state-of-the-art cancer treatment center that is part of an international collaboration with Southwest Oncology Center of Scottsdale, Arizona.

The only TomoTherapy machine in Latin America, at a cost of $2.8M USD, fuses CT, MRI, and PET Scan simulations for contouring and allows for the most precise angles to be used, which can pinpoint tumors previously thought untreatable. With an on-site psychologist, nutritionist and private suites, treatment options include surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.

Clinica Cumbres

Clinica Cumbres, an American-designed Ambulatory Surgery Center, was built in cooperation with the JCI to follow the current US trend where 70% of clinics are for outpatient care. Clinica Cumbres has been JCI accredited since its inception in 2008, providing multi-year transparency, 100% electronic files and the ability to work with insurance providers.

With private rooms and an English-speaking staff, the average stay is six hours and patients are monitored every ten minutes. Specialties include: Angiology, Anesthesiology, Angiology, General Surgery and Gastroenterology, Plastic Surgery, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics, Otolaryngology, Pathology and Urology.

In this interview, Dr. Meyers defines medical tourism as “leaving home for care. It can be inbound, (someone from Mexico coming to the US), outbound (leaving the home country to go to another country) or domestic. There are local, regional, national and international medical tourism clusters developing throughout the United States and around the world.

It is estimated that global medical tourism is a $100B global industry expected to grow significantly over the next few years. While no one can know for certain the effects of the recent US healthcare reform bill, rising costs, lack of supply of physicians and the demand for technologies and treatments continue to expand and fuel the growth of the industry.

The most common procedures sought by patients considering medical tourism are cosmetic surgery and dentistry, bariatric surgery, IVF and short stay procedures in urology, orthopedics, ENT and ophthalmology. That said, because of the onerous costs of some procedures in the US, patients are seeking life-saving cardiac surgery in India, proton beam irradiation in South Korea and living donor liver transplants in Asia.

The entire interview may be found here.