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Q: Cost of surgery in Canada ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars,   0 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Cost of surgery in Canada
Category: Business and Money > Economics
Asked by: jurajp-ga
List Price: $75.00
Posted: 21 Oct 2006 15:22 PDT
Expires: 20 Nov 2006 14:22 PST
Question ID: 775660
I am looking for a price list for major surgeries in Canada. While
Canada has universal health care, there are a number of private
clinics cropping up to deal with the long wait times. An example of
what I?m looking for is this price list for a private clinic in India:
http://www.tajmedicalgroup.com/prices.html.

Exact figures are not important - if they are unavailable ballpark
numbers will do. Prices should be comprehensive where possible,
listing the cost of the procedure, the prosthesis if required
(especially for orthopaedics), and hospital stay.

The list does not have to focus on a particular clinic and can be an
amalgamation of prices from a number of different providers if the
prices do not vary greatly. The main focus should be orthopaedic and
cardiac procedures, as well as cosmetic surgery.
Answer  
Subject: Re: Cost of surgery in Canada
Answered By: pafalafa-ga on 23 Oct 2006 19:27 PDT
Rated:5 out of 5 stars
 
jurajp-ga,

Thanks for your question.

While I didn't find anything quite as neatly laid out as the link in
your question to the Indian center, I did come across numerous bits
and pieces of price data for private surgeries in Canada, which I've
presented below.

First note:  there were no prices available for cardiac procedures,
and from what I could see, private cardiac surgery has not yet taken
hold in Canada...most patients in need of such services seem to head
either to India or to the US.

Second note:  pricing is complex, since there still seems to be a fair
amount of interaction between private clinics and the public health
service, the former sometimes doing contract work for the latter, and
the latter sometimes offering partial reimbursements for work done at
the former.
 

Here is the information I came across...prices shown are in Canadian dollars:


==========

Macleans ran a series of articles on private medical care, which
provide excellent overviews, as well as a lot of specifics.  The
overall series of articles can be found here:



http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/health/article.jsp?content=20060501_126226_126226
Private medical care in Canada
A complete user's guide



You will probably want to look these over in detail.


The pricing information available includes the following:



http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/health/article.jsp?content=20060501_125955_125955
April 25, 2006
PRIVATE MEDICAL CARE: Medical travel agents


[Based on prices from False Creek Surgical Centre in Vancouver, Maples
Surgical Centre in Winnipeg, and Westmount Square Surgical Center in
Montreal].


Partial knee replacement:
$14,000-$16,000


Discectomy (spinal surgery for
ruptured disc): 
$5,000


Gallbladder removal: 
$6,500


Hernia repair: 
$3,000-$7,000


Cataract surgery: 
$2,000


MRI with high resolution: 
$755


CT scan: 
$575


Total knee replacement: 
$18,000



...Prices include hotel for an accompanying family member for up to
four nights. Prices do not include travelling costs.





http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/health/article.jsp?content=20060501_125975_125975
April 25, 2006
PRIVATE MEDICAL CARE: Orthopaedics


...the Duval Orthopaedic Clinic in Laval, Que., has treated more than
1,000 patients from across Canada. It is the only place in Canada that
does full hip replacements.

Hip replacement: 
$11,600


Knee replacement: 
$12,000


Partial knee replacement: 
$11,000 to $12,000


ACL tear: 
$6,000


Hip resurfacing: 
$18,000


...Cost includes up to 11 days of convalescence and physiotherapy. 

...If patients develop a post-operative infection, they are
transferred back into the public system at St-Luc hospital, where they
are covered by their provincial medical plan.

...Because Duval works with doctors who have not opted out of public
medicine, a portion of the cost is eligible for reimbursement from
patients' provincial health plan. The amount patients have been
reimbursed ranges from $1,000 to $2,000 depending on the province and
medical situation.

EXTRAS: If patients wish to convalesce for a longer period than
recommended, they can stay at the clinic for an extra charge of
$200-$250 a night. For a luxury room with Internet access, the cost is
$400 a night.



http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/health/article.jsp?content=20060501_125933_125933
April 25, 2006
PRIVATE MEDICAL CARE: Private hospital


...The Cambie Surgery Centre in British Columbia is the only private
hospital in the country where patients can go and buy the operations
they need...Patients at the Cambie centre are charged according to the
complexity of their operation.


Ankle replacement is $16,000-$17,000


spinal surgery $12,000


partial knee replacement $11,500


hip arthroscopy $6,000


shoulder dislocation repair $3,000-$6,000


ACL tear $4,000-$5,000


gallbladder removal $3,800


hernia repair $2,500


hysterectomy $3,000


mastectomy $2,200


cataract $950 (per eye).


...These costs do not include post-surgery physiotherapy. Residents of
British Columbia pay slightly less because the surgeon's fee is paid
by the provincial health plan. Patients from other provinces can apply
for reimbursement of the surgeon's fee from their own provincial
health plan.



==========


[there was very limited information available on pricing for cosmetic surgery]

http://www.cosmeticprocedureguide.ca/breast_reduction_lift.html
Breast Lift (Mastopexy) 

...Breast lift procedures (with or without augmentation) are performed
in private surgical facilities, as they are uncommonly insured
procedures...The average cost of this procedure, published by the
Canadian Society of Aesthetic (Cosmetic) Plastic Surgery (CASPS) is
$6000 (with a range of $6000-$12,000). Costs will vary based on the
requirement for augmentation and the implant type used.



==========


http://www.hifu.ca/news/nonsurgical-prostate-surgery.php
Non-surgical prostate cancer options improving
Latest technique uses ultrasound
September 19, 2005

...Ablatherm High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) - which has been
used in Europe the past few years and is just being introduced to
North America

...The more we learn, the less we cut," says Dr. William Orovan,
president of the Don Mills Surgical Unit whose private Toronto clinic
is the only place in North America offering the HIFU procedure, which
costs about $17,000


==========

[this article is a bit older than the others, but relelvant nonetheless]
http://cupe.ca/updir/Innovation_exposed.pdf

?INNOVATION? EXPOSED
AN ONGOING INVENTORY OF MAJOR PRIVATIZATION INITIATIVES IN CANADA?S
HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
July 27, 2004

...Patient pays $6,000 for sinus surgery at private clinic to jump
surgery line at False Creek Surgical Centre.


==========


I trust this information fully answers your question.  

However, please don't rate this answer until you have everything you
need.  If you would like any additional information, just post a
Request for Clarification to let me know how I can assist you further,
and I'm at your service.

All the best,

pafalafa-ga


search strategy -- Google search on [ private surgical $1000..50000 site:ca ]

Clarification of Answer by pafalafa-ga on 24 Oct 2006 12:27 PDT
jurajp-ga,

One of my researcher colleagues, bobbie7-ga, let me know of three
additional sites with some great information on cosmetic surgery
prices:


http://www.middletoncosmetic.com/Cost.html 

http://www.csaps.ca/fees.htm 

http://www.plasticsurgeryinfo.ca/sponsors/plastic_surgery_loan.html 


Sorry (and a bit chagrined) that I missed these in my first go round,
and many thanks to bobbie.


paf

Request for Answer Clarification by jurajp-ga on 26 Oct 2006 18:45 PDT
Hi pafalafa-ga,

Thanks for the answer. I realize that this kind of information is hard
to come by - hence I turned to Google Answers. I'm happy with what you
have provided, but I would like to know if the orthopaedic prices
include the cost of the prosthesis (such an artificial hip). These
tend to cost as much as the procedure itself, depending on the
quality. Would it be possible to find this out? If the prices you
mentioned cover the prosthesis as well, what is the material used?
Ceramic, titanium, etc.

Thanks

P.S.
I haven't received any email notifications about your answer being
posted. I double-checked my account's email address and that the
setting is set to "email anytime there's activity". (I'm using a
Hotmail account. Perhaps Microsoft is throttling anything coming from
Google? ;-))

Clarification of Answer by pafalafa-ga on 27 Oct 2006 06:36 PDT
jurajp-ga,

Thanks for getting back to me, and my apologies for the lack of email
notification.  The notification system is not working at present, and
I don't know when it will be back in action.

As for your question, I did find this additional information on hip replacements:


http://www.duval.bz/en/m3a.html


but there's no mention of pricing.

I have some mails out requesting additional information, and if I hear
back, I'll post any new information that comes my way.

Stay tuned, and give it a few days for folks to respond.

paf

Request for Answer Clarification by jurajp-ga on 27 Oct 2006 15:31 PDT
Thanks paf,

I'll check back in a couple of days.

Clarification of Answer by pafalafa-ga on 30 Oct 2006 07:25 PST
jurajp-ga,

Got a bit of additional information in this morning's emails.


Duval Orthopaedic Clinic does total hip replacements, and the cost
cited in MacLean's was $11,600.

In their note to me, they updated and expanded on the pricing
information.  A total hip replacement can cost anywhere from $12,000
to $18,000, with the difference depending of the type of prothesis
needed (metal-plastic, ceramic-ceramic, metal-metal).

The price includes all expenses during a 8 to 10 nights stay including
the prosthesis.


Hope that helps.


paf
jurajp-ga rated this answer:5 out of 5 stars
Hi paf, thanks for a great answer on a difficult topic.

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