Supporters of Medical Tourism as a potential revenue earner for the TCI are celebrating the first total hip replacement operations, using ground-breaking technology, at the Cheshire Hall Medical Facility last week. The operation was performed by a team of experts flown in from the USA on five overseas patients. While here for five days, the team also performed seven knee replacement operations on local TCI patients.
Medical Tourism is an untapped Market for most countries in the region, but for the Turks & Caicos Islands it has started to become a reality – with the TCI adding another first to its list. The first total hip replacement, using new technology, was performed here last week – and some might argue it was another milestone towards turning medical tourism into a profitable reality. This is something that is known to be dear to the heart of Premier the Honorable Doctor Rufus Ewing. What’s going on in the background is that Inter-Health Canada is working closely with a global healthcare and health services brokerage firm called Global MedChoices. Their team of surgeons and staff from Chicago stayed here for five days. It was led by Dr. James MacKenzie from Calgary who performed the first of the five hip replacements on people from overseas. The GMC team went on to perform a further 7 knee replacements for local TCI patients. Several local medical technicians made up the surgical team. The triumph of this landmark project for Inter-Health Canada was heightened because ground-breaking BHR Re-surfacing hip technology was used for the first time in the West Indies region. This technology tends to be used on patients who are young and active. The hip joint is like a ball and socket, and instead of removing the femoral head, as in traditional hip replacements, the ball is “shaved” with a series of bone cuts and capped with a metal implant. Richard Boddington, the chief operating officer with GMC said his surgeons had marveled at the state of the art facilities at Cheshire Hall. It’s hoped a pattern will now emerge where medical teams can be flown in and out from the USA for operations – while the patient remains here for post-operative treatment at Cheshire Hall staying when necessary at local resorts. Since June of last year nine residents have received total knee replacements.
