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FAQs

The questions patients actually ask

Travel, money, safety and follow-up. Questions about a specific operation — how long it takes, how long the implant lasts, when you can drive — are answered on that procedure's own page.

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Travel and logistics

  • How long do I need to be in Mexico?

    Plan on around ten days for most joint procedures: pre-operative assessment, surgery, hospital stay and the seven hotel nights included in your package. Complex spine cases can need longer. Your surgeon tells you the exact figure before you book flights.

  • Do I need to speak Spanish?

    No. A bilingual patient assistant is with you throughout your stay, your consultations are in English, and the medical team communicates with you in English.

  • Can someone travel with me?

    Yes, and we recommend it. A companion stays in your hotel room at no additional charge. Their flights and meals are their own. In the first days after surgery a companion is genuinely useful rather than merely reassuring.

  • Do I need a visa?

    Citizens of the United States and Canada do not need a visa for a tourist stay in Mexico. You will need a valid passport. If you hold another nationality, check the requirements for your passport before booking.

  • Is it safe to fly home after surgery?

    After the recovery week included in your package, for the great majority of patients, yes — with the precautions your surgeon specifies, which usually include moving regularly during the flight and compression stockings. That week exists precisely so that flying home is safe rather than a risk.

  • Who picks me up at the airport?

    We do. All local transport is included: airport to hotel, hotel to hospital, hotel to every consultation, and back to the airport at the end of your stay.

Cost and payment

  • Is the published price really the price I pay?

    The published price is the all-inclusive package for a standard case of that procedure. Your written quote, issued after a surgeon reviews your imaging, states the figure for your case — and it does not change between that document and your invoice. If the surgeon concludes you need a different procedure, you receive a new quote and you decide whether to proceed.

  • What is not included?

    Your flights, treatment for a condition unrelated to the surgery you came for, your companion’s flights and meals, and physical therapy once you are home. Everything else in the trip is inside the figure.

  • Will my insurance cover surgery in Mexico?

    Most United States and Canadian insurers do not cover elective surgery abroad, which is why most of our patients are paying themselves. Some plans reimburse part of the cost. Ask your insurer directly, and ask us for whatever documentation they need.

  • Why is it so much cheaper than at home?

    Because a health system charges what its market allows. The surgical technique is the same, the implants come from the same manufacturers, and the training is comparable. In the United States most of a surgical bill is facility charges, negotiated rates and administration rather than the surgeon’s fee.

Safety and follow-up

  • Is it safe to have orthopedic surgery in Mexico?

    Surgery carries risk anywhere. What matters is who operates, where, and what happens afterwards. Our surgeons are certified by Mexico’s national orthopedic board with 20 to 30 years of practice each; facilities are accredited to national and international standards and inspected by the National Health Department; and orthopedic patients are treated in areas kept separate from infectious cases. Read our page on the risks for the full picture rather than a reassurance.

  • What happens if there is a complication?

    During your stay, a physician visits your hotel room six days a week — which is how most complications are caught early. Financially, every package includes medical tourism insurance covering complications, the treatment they require, and extended hotel nights or flight changes. After you fly home you keep direct contact with your surgeon.

  • Who will actually perform my surgery?

    The surgeon you meet in your video consultation, matched to your procedure rather than assigned by availability. You may ask for their curriculum vitae, how many of your specific procedure they perform in a year, and what their revision rate is.

  • What if I decide not to go ahead?

    Then you do not go ahead. The assessment, the video consultation and the written quote cost nothing and commit you to nothing. If a surgeon concludes surgery is not the right answer for you yet, we will tell you that too.

Three things patients believe that are not true

"Surgery is a quick fix."

It is not. An operation removes the mechanical problem; what you do over the following months determines the result. Physical therapy, a reasonable weight and moderating high-impact activity are not optional extras — they are how the benefit is preserved.

"Orthopedic surgery is only for older people."

Sports injuries, congenital conditions and trauma affect people at every age, and a substantial share of our patients are in their thirties and forties. Age alone is not a criterion in either direction.

"Surgery is always the last resort."

Often, but not always. For some conditions — a displaced fracture, a complete ligament rupture in an active patient, a nerve under compression causing weakness — operating early produces a better outcome than exhausting conservative options first. Your imaging decides this, not a general rule.

Still deciding?

Read the risks page before the price list. Ask us the six questions on the why OSM page — and ask them of every other provider you are considering. And if it would help, ask to speak to someone who has had the operation you are considering.

Questions about a specific procedure?

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