Click here to see a photo array (presented by Colombia Reports) showing the lights of Christmas time..
You can find more information about Christmas, Carnival and other festivals year-round in Bogotá at this webpage here.
Wishing all of my readers and friends a happy holidays and a healthy new year!
The Motley Fool takes on medical tourism. For you aren’t familiar with this site, it’s a very popular financial blog with stories on the economy, popular stock picks, predicted trends and investment strategies for retirement planning. I am only passing familiar with the site myself since I come from a family of economists, but you can imagine my surprise (and delight!) to see medical tourism given serious consideration and discussion on their blog.
It’s about time that people talk about medical tourism in a fair and realistic fashion. It tends to be sensationalized in extremes either fantastic! amazing! awesome! extreme plastic surgery makeover style or devastating. graphic. and disturbing horror stories.
But this is a more rational and balanced discussion of health care and medical tourism – by the numbers, so to speak.. and it’s about time.
Perdoname porque mi espanol es un poco malo pero me gustaria dar vosotros una regalos por la navidad. Por todos mis amigos quien de leimos en espanol :
Ahora, en Smashwords.com – es un promocion por este libro – Bogota! una guia de quirofano. Este descuento es 25% cuando usas codigo TA47T.
Ir a Smashwords rapido! porque este promocion es corte – solomente desde ahora a 17 de enero.
I apologize to all my Spanish readers – my written Spanish is even worse than my spoken words. (Luckily, I hired an excellent translator, Sra. Ochoa for the spanish edition of the book.) Happy Holidays, and here’s wishing we all enjoy the best of health in 2012.
Ivy Hughes at the Boston Globe recently discovered the charms and attractions of this fair city in a feature article published today. She reviews some of the most popular sites and scenes of the city, while dispelling many of the myths surrounding Colombia and enjoying the Transmileno experience..
In other city news, Colombia Reports just published a new story on the development of a new plastic surgery center – catering to the needs of medical tourists.
I also wanted to thank everyone – we recently reached over 10,000 visits – in just the few short months since we started this site..
Hopefully, in the future, I’ll be able to afford to make this, (and the sister sites) ad free for less distractions..
Here’s the link to a nice story published on Off2Colombia as part of a press release for the city of Bogotá. It’s a nice article (and video) that shows the diversity of this beautiful city. As someone who lived in Bogotá for several months – I have to say that everything about this story is very true – and people in Bogotá are very friendly, warm and welcoming to EVERYONE.
Just another interesting facet of this lovely, fascinating and teeming city in the Andes..
Too bad, the independent filmmaker from Tennessee elected to travel to India rather than closer to home (like Latin America.) Still – it places a lot of what we talk about into context – the affordability (or lack of) life-saving treatments in the United States versus numerous countries abroad..
Interestingly enough – despite making the choice to travel thousands of miles for a huge operation – it doesn’t sound like he throughly researched his surgeons, facilities etc. That is certainly troubling as medical tourism has not yet reached the Kayak, or Expedia level for interested travellers. While I am very happy, relieved, pleased that everything worked out well – this could have easily been a cautionary tale (and loss for medical tourism) as a well-publicized win.
But, I will continue to hope that stories like his will help promote safe medical tourism, through the establishment of standards and regulations for medical tourism promoters.
This article on Sabotage Times talks about some of the different cultural ideas of beauty – in this case, the cultural and historical appeal of the large behind or bottom in Colombia. (This is definitely a case of Latin influence on the United States – as this beauty ideal has been rapidly adopted here at home) – leading to an increase in the number of ‘booty enhancement procedures’ for American patients.
These different cultural standards of beauty are also something we have talked about before – and how Latin America is setting the styles for USA and much of the world. These ideals have been quickly adopted into the mainstream American beauty ideals of the 1990’s and beyond.
(If you remember the late 1070’s and 1980’s – most of us up here in North America [and our mothers] – were out there starving and aerobicizing ourselves to try an obtain the tiny, flat bottom of a 12 year old boy.)
While some of this is undoubtably related to the large population of American residents with hispanic origins and the reflection of their beauty ideals – Colombia, Brazil, and Argentina have long been trend setters for fashion and beauty (which includes plastic surgery.) This is one of the trends that makes these destinations so popular for plastic surgery.
For more on Bogotá plastic surgeons – see here, here and here.
For more on plastic surgery and ‘booty enhancement’ gone wrong – see here at our sister site.
Eternal Beginning is book review blog by avid reader (and fellow writer), Christine Cunningham. (It is also the title of her first book.) Christine was kind enough to feature the Bogota book on her blog.
Fundacion Clinica Shaio – the first cardiac hospital in Colombia has recently unveiled the updated english-language version of their website, as part of an effort to aid international travelers, and attract medical tourists. As long time readers know, I spent quite a bit of time at Clinica Shaio, with the Doctors Santos, (and several others). Now as part of our new podcasting project – we will be sharing one of my favorite surgery videos from the operating room of Dr. Hernando Santos. (If you’ve spent time here at www.BogotaSurgery.org than this video will be familiar to you.) To my new readers from iTunes – welcome & enjoy!
Brief introduction to Dr. Hernando Santos, MD.
As promised, my dear readers – more about the delightfully charming and sinfully attractive Frankie Jazz.. Since our fateful (but chance encounter) this summer, Frankie Jazz has released a new single, the acoustic version of one of my personal favorites, “Fight to Stay.” This song, as well as his album, “Let me take my way” are available over at iTunes (and are now part of my newest playlist.. so move over, Wisin & Yandel – Frankie’s come to town!)
and I just couldn’t help myself – I lifted some of his album art from his website, Frankie Jazz. (Let me tell you – the photos of Mr. Vergara don’t do him justice..)
As part of our continuing efforts to bring medical tourism and travel information to people in a multitude of formats, we are planning to begin a series of podcasts featuring physicians and topics discussed here at Bogotá Surgery.
Come back soon for more information on our latest endeavor.
no, this isn’t some sort of quasi-poetic allegory, or sophomoric metaphor. The road to Monserrate – really is a path, or more accurately, the stairs to Monserrate. Monserrate is a popular tourism destination in Bogotá: a church set high on the Mountain above the bustling city. Despite the religious themes, Monserrate appeals to the faithful and the agnostic alike – due to the impressive and expansive views of the valley below.
the view from Monserrate
Traditionally, pilgrims climbed to the top of Monserrate on a worn-down path. A train and a cable car also served to bring travelers, and tourists to the top of Monserrate.
The new upgrades to the footpath have just been completed – making the walkway more accessible to visitors.
The Bogotá Hilton (located in the financial district) also opened this week.
Another story about bringing HIPEC to the masses – this time in Mumbai, India.. I have to wonder about the research for the article – everytime I see the phrase, “A ray of hope”.. sounds suspiciously like the original title of a certain article (in Colombia Reports.com) all of us are familiar with over here at Bogota Surgery.org.
HIPEC and peritoneal mesothelioma – more effective in women?
As reported in numerous stories, many Americans are travelling to Mexico and other countries for dental care. Ex-pats or Americans living abroad are also seeking dental services.
However, as highlighted in this article – determining the quality of your provider overseas is not easy. (Of course, it’s not easy to find a good dentist for many of us at home – but that’s a separate issue.)
Evaluating dentists and dental services is different that evaluating other health care providers – due to the nature of the service. Unlike most surgical procedures – most dental procedures do not require anesthesia, (which means that they can be evaluated on a first-person basis). Of course – for my colleagues who assisted me in writing Bogotá! – it meant quite a bit of time in the dentist’s chair..
El turismo quirúrgico llega a Bogotá ! La autora de La Gema Escondida:
Una Guía para el Turismo Quirúrgico en Cartagena , Colombia, ahora le
trae la historia completa de los hospitales, tratamientos y médicos de
Bogotá, Colombia. Investigado de forma metódica, este libro lo lleva a
las salas de operación para contarle lo que usted necesita saber. Esta
guía es esencial para algo más que sólo turismo quirúrgico – es algo que
cualquiera que viaje, viva o trabaje en Colombia debe tener.
K. Eckland, ACNP-BC, MSN, RN es una enfermera calificada para ejercer la
medicina. Ella tiene extensa experiencia en cirugía cardiotorácica –
dentro y fuera de la sala de operación. Ahora ella comparte sus
descubrimientos desde su última investigación sobre la industria del
turismo médico y servicios disponibles en Bogotá, Colombia. Traduccion
de Constanza Isabella Ochoa Mendigaña.
This month (November) is a big month for the Colombian tourism industry – and the Colombian government with several big events and meetings taking place to promote the tourism sector.
This week, the Secretary – General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)(who knew such things existed?) heads to Bogota to participate as a guest of the Colombia’s minister of tourism – as part of the Tourism Race 2011..
Later this month – at the JW Marriott in Bogota – is the high end tourism conference, “Chic Travel Market“which promotes luxury tourism to Colombia. I’m not sure if surgical tourism counts as luxury tourism but it sounds interesting, nonetheless. (I consider surgical tourism to be “life-saving tourism”..)
A recent headline in pro-racing news – as Santiago Villa underwent surgery at Fundacion Santa Fe de Bogotá – one of the facilities profiled in Bogotá! (and home to several of the surgeons interviewed for this edition.)
A new article in the Seattle Times recommends Latin America in general – and Colombia specifically for affordable vacation travel. They didn’t mention the medical tourism angle, but mentioned the booming tourism industry..
It looks like after several weeks of tedious reformatting to meet Apple’s strict e-book standards – the revised 2011 edition of Cartagena! will be in the Apple iBook catalog. I’m still working on re-formatting The Thoracic Surgeons, and I have barely begun Bogota.
However, the Spanish translation of Bogota! is complete – so once I finish some formatting and final editing – I’ll be publishing Bogota! en espanol to Amazon.com. Loks like I have a couple of weeks in front of the computer ahead of me but let’s hope that everything goes smoothly.
As you know, I am a nurse practitioner and medical writer – not a programmer, but I am still working on expanding our mobile applications to include Apple, Kindle, Blackberry and other mobile products.
The latest version of “The Bogotá Companion” is a bit more limited than previous Android Market versions. (The new application doesn’t allow for some of the features such as interactive maps.) However, it does have video clips, some links to helpful travel information and feeds to our blog.
Here’s a browser app version..
A new article at the Minnesota Star-Tribune highlights the reasons for heading to Colombia and other parts of Latin America for vacation. Medical Tourism isn’t mentioned – it’s strictly a vacation article but it’s nice to see Colombia get a bit of the spotlight it deserves!
I’ve been adding a few links with information about Colombia here at Bogota Surgery – just take a look around.
Just a reminder – your chance to win a free autographed copy of (the newly revised) Bogotá! a hidden gem guide to surgical tourism ends September 18th. You can still enter here!
If you aren’t familiar with Goodreads – it’s an on-line ‘Book Club’ that allows people to share their reviews of their favorite (and not so favorite books.) It also allows readers to catch up with and connect with their favorite authors..
Cartagena’s Fashionable Best
One of the things that I really enjoy about Colombia is the accessibility to arts, literature, entertainment and to those that provide these contributions to local culture. As a small country of only 45 million, there’s just a greater chance to encounter these national treasures.
Today was another example of that – as I had the opportunity to talk to one of Cartagena’s home grown fashion designers, the fabulous Ketty Tinoco and her son, Jose Vergara.
This wonderful chance encounter with the queen of elegance with her trademark crisp cool linens was absolutely thrilling. As long time friends and readers know – medicine/ surgery are my life, and my obsession – but clothing design and fashion are a close second. It all stems from an elective course at Dalhousie University many (too many!) years ago when I was just a few classes short of graduation.
Dalhousie University is well-known to everyone (except this gringa) for its costume studies program – and after taking one class – I was hooked forever with a love of design, fashion and fabric.
Some of you have read about my love of native Bogotano fashion, and how I
haunted the shop windows during the months I lived in Bogotá. Now, I turn my eyes to the coast..
So here I am, sitting next to Ketty Tinoco as she gives me a sneak peek of her upcoming collection – coming out September 1st. (Yes – the collection is luscious, beautiful – and no – all of you will have to wait – no sneak peeks here at Cartagena Surgery.) Ms. Tinoco speaks just a little English, and while looking at her lovely, lovely pieces, all of my adjectives in Spanish just desert me. I am speechless with wonder as I look at the way the fabric is soft, yet crisp, simply elegant yet beautifully detailed.
All the fancy terms I learned in school – are instantly erased – I have no words to describe the loose drape, the relaxed yet classic looks.
Her clothing evokes images of romantic evenings in the steamy Cartagena heat – a return to the glamour of the past. Lauren Bacall, Casablanca, Marlene Dietrich and Katherine Hepburn in those fabulous trousers, this is what it makes me think of. A time when people dressed to impress and dressed for dinner. And these clothes make me long for that.
While all the pieces are beautiful, there is one piece of such classic beauty that my heart just stops – this dress it calls to me, it speaks to me, it evokes images of screen legends and black and white films, of forgotten eras. This dress is so amazingly beautiful and brings to mind such lovely feelings – that tears come to my eyes. And that is fashion, my friends.
from the Ketty Tinoco Collection
Now that I’ve had a chance to share my lovely afternoon with you – let me share a little more about the charming, elegant, talented Ms. Tinoco. She started sewing at home over thirty years ago (just barely 52, and certainly doesn’t look it!)
Since then she has earned a reputation for her style and extensive use of washed linens in her work, as one of Cartagena’s best known designers.
Ketty Tinoco
(Centro Historico)
Calle Baloco, Edif.
Pineres Local 1
Cartagena, Colombia
57 5 664 0525
Ketty Tinoco’s boutique in historic El Centro
Hotel Hilton Cartagena, Local H
Cartagena, Colombia
57 5 665 0660 ext 217
Website: http://www.kettytinoco.com
This video is in Spanish – but you certainly don’t need to know Spanish to love her style!
My readers may remember Dr. Richard Eljadue Martinez, DDS one of the dentists profiled in Hidden Gem. He still maintains an active dental practice in the heart of Cartagena.
Dr. Eljadue also has a small hotel, Portal de San Diego in the middle of the historic district of the El Centro district. (This is where I have been staying during my return visit to Cartagena – and as you should know by now, No – not for free – that’s not my style*.)
Portal de San Diego
Calle 2nd (segundo) de Badillo No 36 – 17
email: portaldesandiego@gmail.com
Portal San Diego is a charming hotel, a typical property with just a few rooms in the heart of one of the most interesting areas in Cartagena. It is more than miles away from the high rises of Bocagrande and the modern, all access beach resorts lining the coastal highway – it is a world away. The rooms are clean, comfortable and European in style – fast internet, hot water and air conditioning make it the perfect hideaway for a writer like myself with a myriad of nearby restaurants and cafes to supplement the complimentary breakfast. It’s been such a nice place to relax and write while I’ve been here in Cartagena that it would be a crime not to mention it.
Since my first visit to interview Dr. Eljadue – he has added a small bar, Bar del Portal aside the hotel. It’s a cozy, intimate sort of place, with a retro early 1960’s feel; everything is sparkling clean with crisp lines, and cool lighting. Frank Sinatra or any of the Rat Pack would be perfectly at home in its relaxed atmosphere. Normally the music is pure Colombiano – but for me, they’ve added a bit of Puerto Rican Reggeaton to the playlist.
One of the bartenders, Jesus (not pictured) looks a lot like the singer, Prince when he was younger and we joke about that as we sip Aguila and enjoy the evening.
Bar del Portal
*I do not accept gifts, payments or gratuities from any of the physicians or dentists profiled. *
Signing a book for Dr. Freddy Sanabria
Bogotá, Colombia
Had a wonderful event to share my book with and thank all of the people who made it possible. (No surgeons, no book). It was wonderful to see everyone – and I want to thank all the surgeons – who literally came straight from surgery to give their support of this project. Some of the great friends I have made from all walks of life (outside the hospital) were also there – which means a great deal – I know that I live and breathe writing and surgery, but I also know that this is not true for most people.
That’s been the theme of all of my visits to Colombia; kindness, caring and support. So many people; from surgeons, nurses, to taxi cab drivers and even random strangers in passing have been kind to the little (sometimes lost) American.
What’s next?
About 1/3 complete on formatting the e-version. It’s a tedious job, but once it’s complete – it will give me the freedom to do instant book updates as needed.
Also hoping to translate the book into Spanish versions. It’s been difficult to find someone due to the technical/ medical language.
Now that the Bogotá project is essentially complete – I anticipate that this blog may change in focus – similar to Cartagena Surgery. There will be more of a focus on medical tourism and medical news, now that interviews will be few and far between. (Never done entirely.)
Another article detailing the importance of investigative medical writing projects such as the Bogotá book. Hopefully, this increased scrutiny will bring more attention to projects such as this – and the need for a comprehensive, detailed review of services by qualified individuals.
Maybe this will bode well for a possible Cali book in the future.
Raleigh – Durham Airport (RDU) – A more personal post today for readers –
The nice thing about traveling to Colombia is that even though the distances are pretty far geographically, flight times are pretty short. After a one hour flight to Miami, it’s just three short hours to Bogotá. Despite that – Bogotá is certainly a world away from my quiet life in Virginia.
– Now I am here in the airport, beginning my journey back to Colombia, starting with a week in Bogotá, my favorite of all Colombian cities (so far!) My adoration of Bogotá came as quite of a surprise to me – and still surprises me after all these months. I’d enjoyed Cartagena – that beautiful, historic but steamy coastal city, but I expected that. It has architecture, museums, monuments along with the ocean, and a latin-caribbean feeling that I like so much. Anyone can love Cartagena with its elegant fortresses, warm sunny weather and welcoming residents. No – Bogota is different. It’s high mountain elevation (8000 ft) gives it a unique climate (eternal fall) with distinct rainy seasons. The city sprawl extends the entire basin of the foot of the mountains – the city itself is surrounded by a haze mix of cloud, smog/ pollution from its inhabitants..
No, my enjoyment of Bogotá was a complete surprise. I had expected to tolerate the city, to endure the bustle, rush, the traffic and the very condensed humanity that is a city of ten million people. It was, in my mind, a necessary evil as part of my research for writing the book. I am many things, but a city girl? Not hardly. A more rustic/ rural / redneck gal could not be found, in northern Nevada, West Virginia and now, in the smallest of urban cities, a mere hamlet of southern Virgina. I expected to be intimidated by the sheer volume of people; after all, I hate crowds, and busy public places. But somehow, it was the complete opposite – it was invigorating, intoxicating.
The very sophistication, the people, the life of the city was addicting in a way I never expected. As three months turned to four, and then five – I kept expecting for my love affair with the city to fade or flame out. But it hasn’t, and I am already mourning my return to the USA.
In Bogota Surgery news:
The New York Times has recently published an article talking about the HIPEC procedure as “bringing hope to patients**”. In typical media fashion, they manage to interview the one surgeon who talks about the procedure in an exceedingly cavalier fashion – and the author of the article reinforces this with his terminology (which I find disturbing.) Did he really need to describe the surgery thusly:
“After slicing the man’s belly wide open, he thrust his gloved hands deep inside, and examined various organs, looking for tumors. He then lifted the small intestine out of the body to sift it through his fingers.
As he found tumors, he snipped them out. “You can see how this is coming off like wallpaper,” Dr. Lowy said as he stripped out part of the lining of the man’s abdominal cavity.
After about two hours of poking and cutting, Dr. Lowy began the so-called shake and bake. The machine pumped heated chemotherapy directly into the abdominal cavity for 90 minutes while nurses gently jiggled the man’s bloated belly to disperse the drug to every nook and cranny. ”
Blatent sensationalism in my opinion – certainly guaranteed to sell papers. If they terrorize a few patients in the process, I guess they don’t care.. Using patient friendly terminology doesn’t mean writing an article like a Stephen King novel.. But then – I am guessing that Andrew Pollack has never had a close family member or friend facing this sort of illness.
The author also does a poor job researching his sources or the actual clinical indications for the procedure, but Bogota Surgery readers will be interested to note the cost of the procedure in the USA ranges from 20,000 to 100,000 – which certainly provides plenty of incentive for medical tourism.
However, despite this fantastic language – the authors voice serious concerns about the effectiveness and appropriateness of this procedure. As you know, I have been following the available research and will continue to do so – to bring readers more information about this procedure; it’s feasibility and effectiveness.
** Since publishing my initial article on HIPEC with hope in the title, there have been a spate of articles using that terminology, as well as several blatent rip-offs of my original article. The success of this article has been surprising, as well as the level of plagerism with on-line media, including large, well-known media outlets.
while recuperating from surgery..
In honor of my upcoming return to Bogotá, I published this article on things to see, do and taste in Bogotá, Colombia. Longer posts to come once I return home..
Excited to report that I have received “Book of the Day” on Independent Authors & Writers.org. You can check out their facebook site here.
I’ve also added a link to their blog, here at WordPress.
As many of my long-time readers know, it’s very difficult to get books like this published by commercial publishing houses – since it’s considered a ‘niche’ title with limited marketing potential. Of course, I hope to prove them wrong but I am grateful to organizations like the Independent Authors for giving unknowns like myself a chance to be discovered by the reading public.
For all my Colombian readers, I am bringing copies down to Bogotá next month – they will be available at Authors Cafe – Calle 70, No. 5- 23. (Otherwise, it’s about 30 dollars to have a copy of the book shipped from the US.)
Looks like I am getting closer to the finish line; I submitted what is (hopefully) the last and final draft last week. After one last round of review – it will be off to the publisher.. (This is the most frustrating part of the process – it’s all formatting issues – unrelated to content.)
Otherwise – the book looks pretty darn good!
Proof copies!!
A new abstract published [ and re-posted below] in advance of the article – confirms what Bogotá surgeons already know –
Uniport or single incision laparoscopy is a safe, effective surgical treatment which reduces post-operative pain, length of stay and recovery time for patients while providing better cosmetic outcomes.
Surprising to me, it seems there is still hesitation among surgeons in the United States to adopt this technique for routine procedures such as appendectomy, or cholecystectomy. In fact, during a recent multi-day tour of Duke University – I was unable to find out information/ or confirm the use of this technique by a single surgeon in the facility. [My methods were by no means definitive or scientific – I questioned surgeons and anesthesiologists but it’s possible that surgeons using this technique were not identified. However, the majority of people I spoke to didn’t know what SIL was, and required a description of the procedure, which adds to my suspicions that this procedure is not being performed at Duke. I will be back at Duke later this month, and will continue to investigate.] if true, this is a significant finding, and failure in American surgery – Duke is one of the leaders in surgical innovation and emerging therapies.
Now the abtract below talks about increased surgical time – which is true, initially as surgeons learn the technique. However, as surgeons become more experienced in this procedure, this is no longer the case. In the cases I observed in Colombia, there was no increase in surgery time – but the surgeon has been performing this technique for several years.
Correction: Despite what I was initially informed – Duke general surgeons do use SILS, and use the single incision laparoscopy approach as part of their living donor kidney transplantation. I apologize for the error.
Abstract re-posted below:
Single incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy (SILC) versus laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) – a matched pair analysis
Department of Surgery, Krankenhaus der Elisabethinen, Fadingerstrasse 1, 4020, Linz, Austria, odogangl@yahoo.com.
The aim of our study was to compare single incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy (SILC) and laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) with respect to complications, operating time, postoperative pain, use of analgesics, length of stay, return to work, rate of incisional hernia, and cosmetic outcome.
Sixty-seven patients underwent SILC. Of a cohort of 163 LC operated in the same time period, 67 patients were chosen for a matched pair analysis. Pairs were matched for age, gender, ASA, BMI, acuity, and previous abdominal surgery. In the SILC group, patient characteristics (gender, age, BMI, comorbidities, ASA, previous abdominal surgery, symptomatic cholecystolithiasis, cholecystitis) and perioperative data (surgeon, operation time, conversion rate and cause, intraoperative complications, postoperative complications, reoperation rate, VAS at 24 h, VAS at 48 h, use of analgesics according to WHO class, and length of stay) were collected prospectively.
Follow-up in the SILC and LC group was completed with a minimum of 17 and a maximum of 26 months; data acquired were recovery time the patients needed until they were able to get back into the working process, long-term incidence of postoperative hernias, and satisfaction with cosmetic outcome. Operating time was longer for SILC (median 75 min, range 39-168 vs. 63, range 23-164, p = 0.039). There were no significant differences for SILC and LC with regard to postoperative pain measured by VAS at 24 h (median 3, range 0-8 vs. 2, range 0-8, p = 0.224), at 48 h (median 2, range 0-6 vs. 2, range 0-8, p = 0.571), use of analgesics, and length of stay (median 2 days, range 1-9 vs. 2, range 1-11, p = 0.098). There was no major complication in either group. The completion rate of SILC was 85.1% (57 of 67). Although there was a trend towards an earlier return to the working process in patients of the SILC group, this was not significant. The rate of incisional hernias was 1.9% (1/53) in the SILC and 2.1% (1/48) in the LC group indicating no significant difference. Self-assessment of satisfaction with the cosmetic outcome was not judged different by patients in both groups.
SILC is associated with longer operating time, but equals LC with respect to safety, postoperative pain, use of analgesics, length of stay, return to work, rate of incisional hernia, and cosmetic outcome.
New agreement with Colsanitas and a company in Northern Virginia is bringing Colombia to the author’s backyard..
Now, for more intimate details of the Bogotá Colsanitas facilities and the surgeons operating there – you’ll have to pick up a copy of Bogotá! The book is being reviewed right now, so we’re getting closer and closer to publication..
Getting ready to start the final editing process, so I can get the manuscript off to the printers.
I’ll be back in Bogotá – at Authors Bookstore on Calle 70 No 5 -23 in August (August 18th).
I’d like to have an event here in Virginia but I am still working on the details. I’ll post the dates and times when I have something scheduled.
One of my new articles on Dr. Borraez has been published to Yahoo! (associated content section) – it’s shared content with the site.. I’ve also written two other articles, one of original content, so I’ll let you know if they get published. I thought it might get a little more exposure this way. I’ve written this trio of articles for Yahoo! as a trial run, so we’ll see how it goes..
Note: Due to recent changes at Yahoo! this article link has changed. I have updated the link to the new article link. Please let me know if you have difficulty accessing this article.
I have published several Images of Surgery in Colombia to the web to give outsiders a glimpse into the operating rooms here in Bogota. But since Yahoo! has overhauled their site – I will publish images here for readers, including photos from some of my other travels (Mexico, Medellin).
However, please do not use/ copy/ alter these images without my express written permission. (All photos by K. Eckland)
I submitted an article on Colombia as a medical tourism destination to Yahoo! for publication. The article discusses several of the factors I’ve mentioned before, and includes my observations from the last several months. We’ll have to wait and see if they think it’s suitable for publication.. Of course, if they reject it – I’ll be sure to post it here, for all of you and your critiques..
Update: 14 May 2011: I received a comment on the website from a Mr. Gabriel Amorocho (of ProExport) inviting questions – so I have sent him several.. Thank you for contacting me. I will update readers and let them know if I receive a reply..
Original Post
There’s nothing like a government agency to remind you of your own insignificance. In this case, it’s Colombia’s ProExport.. ProExport is the government tourism division and one of its specific aims is to promote medical tourism to Colombia.. and here I am, writing a guide to medical tourism in Colombia…hmmm.
So as a writer on medical tourism in Colombia – I thought it would be nice to meet with someone over there, just to hear more about ProExport, what they do, what they are doing to further medical tourism, what they thought the future of medical tourism was in Colombia, etc.. It was a pretty important interview for me – because I thought I would be able to get a lot of questions answered for potential medical travelers, from an official source… yeah – it would have been nice.. But..
Nope, Nada, Never. Not even after five months! of calling, emailing and trying to get an appointment with someone, anyone, over at ProExport. Everyone I’ve met here has tried to intercede, even my downstairs neighbor (who knows someone who knows someone etc..) to get me just twenty minutes with someone from ProExport.. I’ve emailed several people at ProExport directly, from the information they provided.. I even managed to navigate the operators, with multiple transfers only to be transferred to an endlessly ringing phone.. and called again, and again, and again.. Never even got a form response to my emails..
It was easier – to get a reply from the President himself, (President Juan Manual Santos), and he was exceeding gracious about it.. (I sent him a copy of my first book – silly, but I was excited – my very first book, and just a week or so later, I received a very nice thank you note..)
So it’s the last weekday, of my last week here in Bogota, so I guess this humble writer, has been humbled again – and I will accept defeat.. There will be no ProExport interview for this unknown writer..
Dr. Rafael Beltran, Thoracic Surgeon
Spent the morning at the National Cancer Institute, which really is a pretty amazing place, with a pretty amazing guy – Dr. Rafael Beltran. He’s one of the many incredible people I’ve met here – that truly make the world a better place through their work. I could have spent all day with him, seeing patients, surgery, discussing his cases and research – (Heck – I’d love to work with him!) but unfortunately, I had to race across town after several hours for another interview..
Dr. Beltran (tall gentleman on the left) and his surgical team
I really like this picture here, I think it highlights one of the important aspects of surgery – the surgical team.. As you can see above, Dr. Beltran (left) certainly doesn’t work in isolation – and that’s his philosophy about cancer care – the surgeons from different specialties work together closely, along with oncologists, radiologists, hematologists, therapists and other specialties to give well-coordinated, and well-rounded care. While I was the operating room, I stood next to a shy young woman.. After I badgered her for a little bit – she told me her story. She’s a respiratory therapist – and she was watching the surgery, so she would better understand how to take care of her lung surgery patients – and to understand exactly what they had been through. Not often do surgeons find room in their ORs for respiratory therapists – but Dr. Beltran understands that by having this young woman here observing – she learned more today than she could ever glean from books.. By doing so – he’s integrated her into the surgical team, and that’s important when often today’s medicine is an exercise in fractured and fragmented care.
In the operating rooms all around us – the same thing was occurring, with orthopedics, plastic surgery, neurosurgery.. As you can tell – on all my visits to the National Cancer Center, I’ve been very impressed with the physician commitment and the level of care.
As I raced off – I received a text that the doctor I was next scheduled to meet had to go to another hospital – he offered to meet me there, but he had an emergency, so I thought it best to reschedule for when he had more time. I’m really looking forward to talking to him – so I didn’t want him to be too distracted.. I get the best interviews when we can just sit down and talk..
Then – a thoracic surgeon we’ve talked about before – texted me that he had 2 interesting cases – did I want to go? So I spent he remainder of the afternoon talking with Dr. Juan Carlos Garzon, thoracic surgeon. I’m glad I did – because I had lots of questions from our previous interviews, and between cases, he spent the time to answer my lingering questions; about his practice, about thoracic surgery in general, and about Colombian medicine so it was definitely a worthwhile trip..
Dr. Juan Carlos Garzon, Thoracic Surgeon..
well, everyone – my visa is expiring, I’ve spent my retirement, I’m physically exhausted, and I need a job – it’s come time for me to return home to the United States. But not before I cram in as many last-minute interviews as possible before my plane takes off in the early morning hours of May 16th.
My only regret is despite interviewing as many surgeons as I was physically able, it just wasn’t possible to meet and talk to all of the thousands (literally thousands) of surgeons here in Bogota.
For my last week, I have some great interviews lined up – going to meet with several more surgeons at Hospital Santa Clara, going to the operating room with Dr. Beltran from the National Cancer Institute and interviewing with the amazing trauma surgeon, Dr. Borraez, inventor of the ‘Bogota Bag’ aka the ‘Borraez Bag.’ I’ll be seeing Dr. Holguin, as well, from the first edition – to catch up as he now lives in Bogota part-time.
I’m still hopeful I’ll be able to slip in and see a few more surgeons – waiting to hear back now..
But I won’t be away from Colombia for too long! I plan to be back in August, once I’ve completed the arduous task of editing the hundreds of pages of notes, and thousands of pages of additional materials – to present my book, here in Bogota, first – to all the people who have assisted me, took time out of their busy schedules to talk to an unknown nurse, and budding writer.
Even if I never sell a large amount of copies, I feel like I have accomplished a lot – I have brought some well deserved attention to some great physicians. Many of these people do things, ever single day that would be considered extraordinary at home. Others have invented or performed procedures that are used around the world to help others. Others make the world, and Bogota, a better place, just by listening to their patients, giving freely of their time and caring. That’s no small feat in today’s world of medicine, and for me, no small feat to write about.
I hope that the readers of this book are able to get a sense of the information I am trying to convey, and that it helps them with their healthcare decisions. If I have done that, and sell ten copies – then I have succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.
Thank you to everyone following my blog, and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it!
Met with the very nice Dr. Catalina Morales yesterday evening to talk about Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery.. Oh – and did I mention hand and maxillofacial surgery..
She’s very enjoyable to interview because she’s one of those people who really finds pleasure in what she does.. She likes to help people with reconstructive surgery, and she enjoys the satisfaction her aesthetic practice gives her patients..
Planning to go to the OR with her today – so we will re-visit the smiling, talented Dr. Morales later this afternoon..
Update: In the operating room with Dr. Catalina Morales, at Clinica de Marly 7 May 2011
Dr. Catalina Morales at Clinica de Marly
Dr. Morales at Clinica de Marly during hand surgery
I also interviewed Dr. Casallas Gomez over at Santa Fe de Bogota, read about it in another post..
Colombian Culture & Cuisine 