American and Canadian citizens cross the border for plastic surgery, dental treatment and obesity.

Low prices for medical surgeries and procedures are driving medical tourism in Baja California, a business that has grown steadily, especially over the past five years, said Ricardo Vega Montiel, president of the College of Plastic, Aesthetic and State Reconstructive Surgeons.

For the president of the College of Plastic Surgeons, “in the United States, the gastric sleeve costs on average between 20 and 25,000 dollars, but in Mexico between 4,500 and 5,000 dollars; gastric bypass there costs about 35,000 and here it is an average of 7,000 dollars, this represents an important resource for the state and the annual growth of health tourism, which has increased by 13% in the last five years “.

Vega Montiel explained to local media that according to data from the Secretary of State for the Economy, every year 2.5 million people cross the border from the United States to undergo medical procedures.

The three services most requested by patients in the state, mainly in Tijuana, would be dental; bariatric procedures, for obese patients and seeking gastric sleeve, in addition to different plastic surgeries.

As the San Diego airport is well connected and 20 minutes from the border with Mexico, people arrive easily from Canada or the East Coast of the United States.

Another of the factors pushing medical tourism to Baja California this is the waiting time in the United States to make an appointment with specialists.

Express. Writing. J.R.