If you come have surgery in St George, you’ll enjoy familiar language and culturally-comfortable service.

If you choose to travel to Mexico or some other country near or far, language translation and interpretation “may” be available but you’ll have to pay for it. The cost of translation and interpretation is generally not included in the prices you find on international comparison sites. In Mexico, for example, the main meal is served at around 2pm and a light dinner is served (a sandwich or a salad) as an evening meal around 7 pm. While many hospitals in Mexico try very hard to accommodate foreign patients, when there are only a few of them in the hospital, it is difficult to change the entire dietary regimen and food selections for 2-3 patients. They also may depend on a telephone operator translation service from AT&T which doesn’t help much if you are afraid and/or cannot speak face-to-face to get help. You may not think much of it now, but patients who have traveled to foreign countries want creature comforts and familiar food and water when they don’t feel well. Stay stateside and maintain control over language and meal options in the hospitals and hotels that accommodate U.S. patients every day of the week in large numbers.

In the USA, for the past 20 years, a massive effort has been undertaken to get patients to “talk with their doctor”; “ask questions” and “engage” in their healthcare and wellness.

In other countries, patients still let health “happen” to them. They don’t question the doctor’s recommendations or ask questions. And if they do, they often receive strange looks and resistance from the doctors and nurses. They are frequently unprepared and unaccustomed to engagement by patients and tend to interpret questioning and curiosity and engagement as a challenge to their authority. They may react poorly to the questions and answer in curt, or condescending tones.  Stay stateside and shoot straight with your doctor without your doctor or nurses taking offense.

Professional liability and malpractice insurance is a concern when you travel to a foreign country for surgery.  The things we take for granted as Americans if something goes wrong are not the same.

In many countries, if you have a complication that could have been avoided, you may have to file a lawsuit with all the court papers in their official language, according to their laws. Sometimes, all they offer is arbitration and the arbiter can only award the amount it costs to do the procedure over in that country. Nothing for return travel, pain and suffering, or other non-monetary damages. In some cases, the hospitals and doctors don’t carry professional liability insurance. So if you want to buy medical tourism complications insurance (like buying private liability insurance) you’ll be expected to pay a percentage of your package price for the comfort of knowing you’ll be take care of if the unthinkable happens. It isn’t included in the price quoted.

In the USA, most every hospital and surgeon, nurse, anesthesiologist and others involved in delivering care during your procedure are insured inf a mishap occurs. The case is often settled out of court through arbitration or mediation and in rare cases, through a lawsuit. All proceedings and paperwork are in English and the laws governing the procedure of the case is known to attorneys who practice in the USA.  The professional liability insurance cost is part of the overheads and is included in the price you are quoted for your surgery.

Add these differences to the quotes you find online, plus the cost of international travel, passport and visa costs and those low foreign prices are suddenly not as low as what’s possible here in the USA.

Accreditation is a process carried out by trained surveyors who survey and review the quality and safety of a healthcare facility and its operating procedures and practices and its documentation of policies, procedures, standards, and more.

In the USA, there are several accrediting bodies recognized by the industry and insurers. St George Surgical Center is accredited by The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (“AAAHC”) which is one of the most prestigious and highly-recognized accrediting bodies in the USA.

When you read about foreign providers’ accreditation, all the international accrediting bodies evaluate that the care delivered meets the average of the standard of care in the community in which the care is rendered, not U.S. standards.

Which standard of care will you prefer?

St George Surgical Center’s Transparent Pricing, Bundled Payment Options—are reliable. No bait and switch surprises. SGSC’s all-inclusive, no surprises pricing is available for more than 220 surgical procedures.

For example, $17,985 is our pricing for an Anterior Total Hip Replacement, which includes Surgeon Fees, Facility Fees, Anesthesia, Implants, Overnight Stay, and Physical Therapy while at our Facility. Write a check for it and you’re all paid up.

On the other hand, many international destination healthcare providers have been called out in the media for quoting package prices for surgery and then presenting bills for “extras” that you must pay before you can leave. In some countries, if you don’t pay, they can detain you and call the police and take your passport until the matter is settled. Contact any provider when shopping for surgery and ask, “What’s the price if I want to write the check right now?” In many cases, it won’t be the same number that you saw online.

At SGSC the price we quote is the price you pay, as long as you are ready to pay in full on the day of service or before. You can rely on it.

Our SGSC surgeons are board certified, and many are fellowship trained in their specialty.

Our surgical equipment is state-of-the-art, and we employ and keep current with many of the latest cutting-edge techniques including robot-assisted joint replacements and opioid medication alternatives. What’s more, they are nice people – friendly and approachable, involved in their church, the community, and treat our staff, nurses and other physicians with respect and kindness.

Patient satisfaction & safety are paramount.

SGSC’s Patient Satisfaction rates are 99.6% positive, and our reported infection rate is extremely low at 0.37 percent (1 in 2,700). You can bank on a high standard of care at SGSC, no matter which surgical procedure you need.

St. George is a relatively small but friendly community in southern Utah just over the border from a tiny sliver of Arizona. We’re situated in the Mojave Desert among spectacular red rocks and lava flows. The photos you see on our website are some of the awesome natural beauty that awaits your arrival. St. George and the surrounding area are world-renowned for natural beauty, accented by the “Grand Circle” of National Parks—Zions & Bryce National Parks with their stunning red-rock cliffs and hoodoos, The Grand Canyon, Arches, and Canyonlands National Parks sporting their sweeping vistas, and the beautiful blue waters of Lake Powell all within a few hour’s drive. If you’re looking for night life, the bright lights of Las Vegas are only 90 minutes away.

But here’s the thing. Medical travel within the USA presents fewer travel challenges than travel abroad. There are no worries with Visa’s or Passports, language barriers, and other risks. No risky culinary adventures. Getting your medical records is a snap. And should anything go wrong, U.S. malpractice laws apply, as opposed to the rules of a foreign legal system.

If you travel abroad, roll the dice. You may get lucky. But is that what you are willing to risk?

And if you think the low prices of international medical destinations are the best deal, consider this: In most cases, the cost of the surgery at SGSC ends up being less than the combined costs of travel and medical treatment to a foreign destination.

Travel to St. George is pretty easy. Located on the I-15 corridor, St. George is less than a day’s drive from most Western metro areas. Air travel is seamless, with direct connecting flights from Los Angeles, Denver, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, and soon, flights from Dallas served by United, Delta, and American Airlines. And for really cheap flights, Las Vegas’ McCarran Airport is less than two hours away and accessible to and from St. George via shuttle buses and private chauffeured town cars. St George also offers another advantage. If you go to a big metropolitan city like New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Boston, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Houston, Dallas and other busy gigantic cities, you’ll have to deal with traffic, parking, high hotel prices, and concrete jungles. Not here. In St George, you can get across town in 10-15 minutes, pay lower prices on hotels, food, and …surgery.

That’s up to your surgeon. Each person is different. You should plan to arrive at least two business days prior to your procedure. That allows time for a consult face-to-face with the doctor and any last minute diagnostic testing you may need.  After your procedure, your doctor will visit with you once again and if you are not a local resident, you’ll be evaluated for fitness to travel home by air or by car. You’ll be provided information to carry with you if a complication arises on the way home. Many of the orthopedic procedures require a brief stay in town after surgery … one to three days on average. Your situation may not be average. You may be fit to travel sooner or may need a few extra days.

Many of our patients plan some extra time before their surgeries just to see the sights. They are easily enjoyed in a car or bus tour. There are also helicopter tours to see the views from up above. Just check with your facilitator and your doctor about activity levels, sun exposure (some medications cause quicker sunburns than others) altitude considerations, and any other restrictions you should consider. From that point, we can suggest activities in every physical ability range and interest level.