THUNDER BAY -- An American medical facility is making a pitch to Thunder Bay patients who would prefer not to join the queue for joint replacement surgery at home.
But the service does not come cheap.
Northwoods Surgery Center in Woodruff, a community in northern Wisconsin, is advertising total hip replacements at a cost of $20,000 U.S. and total knee replacements for $16,000 U.S.
The facility is jointly owned by local surgeons and a nearby hospital.
Dr. Kevin Tadych says they decided to reach out to prospective patients in Thunder Bay because he became familiar with issues that confront people needing surgery locally. Tadych said he frequently vacations in northwestern Ontario.
"I know there are long wait times. The Canadian system has been plagued with long waits," he told Tbnewswatch.
Tadych said many Canadians already opt for surgery in American hospitals that are much farther from Thunder Bay than his facility is. "I thought to myself, 'We should let the Canadians know about this, so they don't have to travel to New York or Florida or something, especially people in Thunder Bay that are really not that far from us.' "
Tadych believes Canada's health care system is being "swamped" by its aging population.
"The demographic cliff is kicking in just like it is in the U.S. where you've got an aging population that's wearing out, and the needs, particularly for orthopedics and arthritis and all these kinds of things, are going to be huge."
After reviewing a patient's records, Northwoods can arrange for surgery within a week or so of a consultation with a patient. Patients typically remain in the Woodruff area for one night after surgery, but the procedure doesn't usually involve a hospital stay.
Tadych said although the price may seem high, Canadians going elsewhere in the United States will pay $50,000 for the same procedure at a typical hospital.
According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), the wait time for hip replacement surgery in Thunder Bay is 222 days, compared with the provincial average of 247 days.
CIHI's most recent report shows the wait time for knee replacements in Thunder Bay is 204 days, compared with the Ontario average of 170 days.
Dr. Gordon Porter, Chief of Staff at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, says the hospital is meeting provincial targets for wait times, and has "an extremely competent and robust orthopedic group who perform hip and knee replacements."
Porter told Tbnewswatch that every patient has a right to seek treatment in an environment or location of their choice, but added "My only concern is...what happens in the event that a perfect result wasn't obtained" from any surgery done out of someone's home community.
He said that while knee and hip replacements are major surgery, most of the time the procedure goes extremely well.
Dr. Porter noted, however, that "If you're a consumer of the system, one might have more confidence knowing that their surgeon is around for their continuum of care from the beginning to the end, including should there be an adverse medical event."
He cited the example of an infection or something else that could create a debilitating complication. "If your surgery was done outside the country, it would be difficult to have that managed, I would think."
Porter said he would advise any patients who feel this type of surgery can't be done locally to consider that Thunder Bay has "a tremendous orthopedic group...They're doing leading-edge, modern technology through the whole continuum of joint replacement surgery."
