Organizers were initially somewhat skeptical due to the recent political stability issues Thailand is facing, but so far the organizers report unexpectedly strong support from more than 200 exhibiting companies from all parts of the world.

HospiMedica Thailand 2007 gives participants and visitors a chance to update themselves on the latest developments in the health-care industry. Apart from that the event also provides a welcome opportunity for professionals in the health-care industry to network.

Thailand’s market for medical devices is expected to record healthy growth this year in keeping with the ever growing medical tourism.

According to the organizer, the medical equipment and supplies market in the Asia-Pacific region is forecast to grow by 30% to a value of approximately $43 billion by 2010.

Thailand’s market for medical devices was valued at around THB 500 Mio in 2006 and is expected to grow by 20% this year. If you think about it, it’s a tiny amount still, for the world leader in medical tourism. I expect this growth to accelerate over time, but for now the rich hospitals here still pride themselves of importing most of their equipment, rather than using locally manufactured tools.

The Bumrungrad reported an 8.5% increase in profits and a 10.4% increase in sales. That’s less than expected - for both numbers. If medical tourism should continue to growe at 20 - 30% per year, the second half needs to be … exeptional to say the least. Also increasing profits at a lower rate than sales is not exactly good news. I will try to find the reasons later but it can only mean that either competition brought prices and margins down or, fixed costs were not all that fixed. Actually they must have been rising faster than sales. Could it be that an almost empty, brand new outpatient building hurts profit growth? Does the strong Baht bring in lower earnings from the overseas operations? Again, that’s all a very superficial speculation - I’ll have a look at their financial statements some other day.

Prasit Pattana Plc, which operates the Phyathai Hospitals, has done much bettere than previously and finally turned profitable.

Thailand is a bit more expensive than India for most medical procedures but it is cheaper than Singapore. With the strenghening Baht this gap is getting smaller though. Good news for Singapore.

100 million Americans will reach retirement age over the next 30 years and growing numbers of them will not be able to afford health care in the US.

According to the United Nations the $4.4 trillion-a-year travel and tourism industry has in recent years become the world’s largest industry and is bigger than the defense or the oil industry. In many countries medical tourism is becoming an increasingly growing slice of the travel sector.

Costa Rica has about 150,000 medical tourists a year. That’s a lot! Roughly the same number as India.

A simple coronary bypass surgery that costs $60,000 in the United States costs about half in Panama. Half including airfreights and other travel costs that is.

The New England Journal of Medicine says that 25 percent of U.S. doctors studied abroad, and 60 percent of these doctors studied in developing countries.

No hospital in Latin America outside Brazil has JCI accreditation.

The main reason was that sales growth in North America slowed to 9.6 percent, down from 28 percent a year earlier. The company says demand was hurt by a slowdown in the U.S. economy and comparisons with last year, when sales were booming. Hm, it might be difficult to secure sub-premium loans for impants these days.

Interestingly Straumann Holding, the other main dental implant manufacturer and main competitor reported that sales in the US have started to pick up. Together Straumann and Nobel carve up more than 50% of the global dental implant market.

Nobel Biocare’s sales in Europe rose 23 percent and jumped 39 percent to 26.3 million euros in the Asian-Pacific region.

Nobel Biocare has tried to expand the market for implants by making the devices simpler to install and by marketing them heavily to dentists and consumers. About nine out of 10 people needing a new tooth choose a traditional crown-and- bridge or denture, because implants typically cost more and require a specialist.

In other words, there is still plenty of room for continued growth. Check our dental implants in Thailand section for more information on specific deals in the Land of Smile Makeovers.

She attempted to extract wrong teeth, prescribed medication that a patient was allergic to, allowed the sale of sexual aids from her clinic, held clinic parties replete with liquor and sex and passed naked pictures of herself around to staff. Her attorney says Nadeau denies showing naked pictures of herself to employees.

Nadeau wore a belly-dancing costume in the office.

She prescribed narcotics for clinic staff and then took the drugs herself.

Her state’s Board of Dental Examiners found that Nadeau was incompetent in several areas of dentistry, violated infection control guidelines and pretty much every other guidline in the book and therefore … and now it comes… suspended her license for six months.

Personally I don’t mind the belly-dancing costume but I do wonder what it takes to lose a dentist’s license in the US.

Actually I am not too serious about this whole story but I post it anyhow to poke fun at those hypocrits who feel the strong urge to point out that it is important to choose the right doctor when one considers surgery abroad (as opposed to the oh-so-well regulated United States of Medical Perfection).

Check MediThai’s list of dental clinics in Bangkok for better screened professionals (wearing more conservative attire).

Offenses liable to earn an officer the pink Kitty include failing to
report for duty, parking in a prohibited area, fighting, or being the
subject of a complaint about poor service.

Any connection with medical tourism? Non, whatsoever. Or wait! A fun-loving environment with lots of smiling faces must count for something. I am sure Kitty is going to put a big smile on my face when I see her the first time on the upper arm of a man in uniform.

I promise I did not photoshop this. My Thai colleagues to whom I showed the paper did not find it all that strange. A good idea actually. Who am I to disagree.

If you are interested in more ograsms and willing to look into a procedure which involves a syringe and pumping a small dose of collagen into your Grafenberg spot, or G spot, doubling its size to the diameter of a quarter, read on…

The best set of numbers is for the US and they come with prices.

• Botox — 313,519 men elected this non-surgical procedure in 2005, a 233-percent increase from 2000. The average price in the United States for this procedure is $363.
• Microdermabrasion — 201,051 procedures were performed on men in 2005, up 134 percent from 2000. The average price in the United States for this procedure is $177.
• Laser Hair Removal — 173,387 men had laser hair removal to remove hair and reduce hair growth, sometimes permanently. This was a 30-percent increase from 2000. The average price in the United States for this procedure is $406.
• Chemical Peel — 108,551 men went opted for this treatment in an attempt for smoother skin. This number was actually 46-percent decrease from 2000. The average price in the United States for this procedure is $628.
• Nose Reshaping (Rhinoplasty) — 99,681 men went for this plastic surgery procedure in 2005, a 34-percent decrease from 2000. The average price in the United States for this procedure is $3,511.
• Hair Transplantation — 39,245 procedures were performed on men in 2005, a 3-percent decrease from 2000. The average price in the United States for this procedure is $4,755.
• Laser Skin Resurfacing — 37,999 men underwent this cosmetic procedure in 2005, up 76 percent from 2000. The average price in the United States for this procedure is $1,977.
• Liposuction — 35,673 men went to their surgeons for liposuction in 2005, a 31-percent decrease from 2000. The average price in the United States for this procedure is $2,323.
• Eyelid Surgery (Blepharoplasty) — 32,988 men underwent eyelid lifts in 2005, down 43 percent from 2000. The average price in the United States for this procedure is $2,534.

(SOURCE: Forbes.com, check out here to find plastic surgery prices in Thailand for the same procedures)

An other article with numbers from the UK states:

According to The Harley Medical Group the plastic surgery breakdown for men over fifty in the UK is as follows:

• Liposuction (incl. abdomen, chest and facial areas) 24%
• Blepharoplasty 21%
• Face lifts 14%
• Rhinoplasty or nose operations 11%
• Tummy tucks 8%
• Neck lifts 7%
• Brow lifts 5%
• Chin implants 3%
• Otoplasty or ear surgery 2%

The above numbers don’t add up to 100% and I wonder what happened to Botox for men in the UK. My guess is that they don’t consider that surgery.