Korea Medical Compass

  A daughter living in Arizona flew to South Korea to donate a kidney to her mother. When another hospital considered transplantation too risky, an Asan Medical Center team evaluated a robot-assisted approach. Based on three first-person letters published by Asan Medical Center: from the mother, the daughter, and their transplant surgeon. About the image: The accompanying cover image is an AI-generated illustration, not a photograph of the actual family, hospital room, or surgery. 1. A phone call from Arizona In October 2017, a daughter living in Arizona learned that her mother had kidney failure and might eventually need a transplant. She decided that, if the day came, she would volunteer to donate one of her kidneys. In May 2020, another call from her family told her that the situation had become urgent. Despite pandemic travel restrictions, she flew to South Korea to help her mother. 2. Preparing to donate during the pandemic The daughter described a journey of approxim...

  A real case from Asan Medical Center: A U.S. patient with renal pelvis cancer faced a delay in starting anticancer treatment because of overseas insurance authorization. Here is how the hospital’s international care team helped. When a Cancer Diagnosis Meets an Insurance Problem A woman in her 60s from the United States was admitted to Asan Medical Center in Seoul through the emergency department. She had been diagnosed with a malignant tumor of the renal pelvis, described in the hospital's account as transitional cell carcinoma. The renal pelvis is the part of the urinary tract that collects urine inside the kidney. Cancer arising in its lining is often classified as upper tract urothelial carcinoma. The patient's treating team determined that systemic anticancer treatment needed to begin promptly. 1. Why Treatment Was Delayed According to a firsthand account published by an international insurance and billing manager at Asan Medical Center, the patient faced a finan...

  How a Silicon Valley engineer with advanced liver disease received complex living-donor liver transplantation at Asan Medical Center in Seoul. At a glance: Charles Carlson traveled from the United States to South Korea for a complex living-donor liver transplant in December 2018. His wife donated part of her liver. Following an 18-hour operation and prolonged recovery, he was discharged in February 2019. When Treatment in the United States Became Complicated In 2018, Charles Carlson, a software engineer from Silicon Valley, faced a serious medical crisis. He had liver cirrhosis and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a disorder affecting the production of healthy blood cells. Although he had received care at Stanford Medical Center, his worsening liver condition made further treatment difficult. He was on a U.S. liver transplant waiting list, but the timing of a suitable deceased-donor organ was uncertain. According to Asan Medical Center's published account, he was advised to ...

REAL PATIENT STORY · SURGERY COSTS · SOUTH KOREA A firsthand account of a reported $2,400 medical bill—and what a published U.S. surgery price can, and cannot, tell us. For patients in the United States, choosing where to undergo surgery can be both a medical and a financial decision. One patient living in the United States described traveling to Seoul for inguinal hernia surgery after consulting several American surgeons. In a firsthand post on the Hernia Talk forum , the patient reported paying $2,000 for hernia surgery and another $400 for lipoma removal . The patient said the combined expense was lower than the deductible on their U.S. health insurance plan. Verification matters This is a self-reported patient experience, not an independently audited hospital bill. The patient's U.S. residence is described in the account, but U.S. citizenship has not been established. The published American price discussed below is not a quote received by this patient. ...

Choosing a hospital abroad is not a contest to find the most famous name. The right hospital depends on the diagnosis, the specialist team, treatment availability, and what happens after discharge. This guide introduces five major hospitals in South Korea and explains how to compare them without treating the list as a ranking. 1. Five Major Hospitals to Explore Asan Medical Center Seoul, South Korea A large tertiary hospital with programs including cancer, cardiovascular disease, organ transplantation, and complex surgery. Official hospital website Samsung Medical Center Seoul, South Korea A tertiary hospital with multidisciplinary specialty services, including oncology and complex medical care. Official hospital website Seoul National University Hospital Seoul, South Korea An academic medical center with broad specialist services and teaching and research programs. Official hospital website Severance Hospital (Yonsei University Health System) Seoul, South Korea A university hos...

  Can surgery cost less in South Korea than in the United States? For patients paying out of pocket, the answer may be yes for some procedures—but the amount varies widely. This guide compares ten illustrative surgical cost ranges and explains what to check before relying on any quote. 1. U.S. vs. South Korea: 10 Surgery Cost Comparisons All amounts are in U.S. dollars. These are illustrative self-pay price examples and preliminary estimates , not national averages or guaranteed quotations. Appendectomy UNITED STATES $7,368 SOUTH KOREA $1,130–$2,270 Laparoscopic gallbladder removal UNITED STATES $6,836 SOUTH KOREA $2,420–$5,060 Total knee replacement (one knee) UNITED STATES $16,314–$32,484 SOUTH KOREA $4,530–$7,550 Cataract surgery (one eye) UNITED STATES $3,500–$7,000 SOUTH KOREA $1,130–$2,270 Coronary stent placement UNITED STATES $20,000–$50,000+ SOUTH KOREA $9,060–$13,600 Lumbar microdiscectomy UNITED STATES $15,000–$35,000 SOUTH KOREA $5,290–$9,060 Total hip repla...