Eye Surgeons Abroad


Qualifications, Registrations & Memberships

It is crucial that you ensure you are in safe hands when undergoing medical treatments abroad.  Find out what qualifications a surgeon has.  The surgeon may have particular letters behind their name and may be able to give you a list of professional regulatory bodies of whom they are members and details of their qualifications.  You may even wish to check this information, by contacting regulatory organisations yourself.  If you are really stuck, contact official organisations in the UK and see if they can point you in the right direction.  A minimum accreditation must be required to perform medical procedures, no matter which country you go to.

Often surgeons will have trained and qualified in the UK in which case they should be registered with the General Medical Council.  The GMC can be contacted to check membership status.  The UK’s Royal College of Ophthalmologists recommends that refractive surgeons should be fully trained Ophthalmologists and should have undergone additional specialist training in refractive surgery.  Check if your surgeon is a qualified Ophthalmologist.  Many surgeons have international memberships such as the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. 

Experience

You may wish to ask the surgeon how many procedures they have completed and for how long they have been carrying out the treatment.  Ask them, about their success rate and how many re-treatments they have had to complete.  This may help you feel more comfortable with the surgeon and more at ease about the procedure.

Questions to Ask the Surgeon

In order for you to make an informed decision about the procedure and which surgeon to use, you should be given the opportunity to ask the surgeon any questions.  Their response will help you decide if they are the right person to treat you.  Ask questions in confidence, as any information provided will be kept strictly confidential.  You may wish to ask the following questions:

  • How safe is the procedure?
  • What are your qualifications, memberships and registrations? 
  • What training have you had?
  • What is the recovery time?
  • What are the side effects?
  • What are the risks?
  • What happens if something goes wrong during surgery or during the recovery period?
  • What happens in the procedure?
  • What is your success rate?
  • How many procedures have you performed?
  • How long have you worked at the clinic?
  • How soon after the treatment can I fly?

Choosing a clinic and surgeon are very important.  Considering eye treatment can be quite daunting and it is natural to feel anxious about the procedure and being treated abroad.  Treatment in a foreign country will most certainly raise concerns about safety and expertise but with research and support you may feel confident with medical tourism and decide to go ahead with treatment abroad in the hands of an experienced, qualified surgeon. 

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