I was in constant pain: but I couldn't afford a UK operation

Our patient Anita Jennings travelled to Belgium (Singelbergclinic)  for a breast reduction.

The 25-year-old had been asking for the NHS surgery because of constant back and neck pain for more than seven years. She couldn’t afford the £6,000 cost to have it done privately in the UK. She has gone from a 34HH (right) to a 34E (top).

‘I hated how I looked and was always in pain,’ she says. ‘I did a lot of research and chose Belgium as I could travel by train.’

Anita, a hairdresser from Billericay, Essex, arranged the trip using advice site Treatment Abroad and paid £3,100 for surgery and £800 on travel and a hotel for her and her boyfriend — saving £2,100.

‘It meant I didn’t feel pressurised

What are the savings?

Savings can be substantial. More than seven in every ten patients saved over £2,000 even after additional costs of travel and accommodation have been taken into account. More than one in ten saves £10,000.

Research for Money Mail reveals someone travelling to Turkey and staying for 15 days for dental treatment would save £4,720 compared with private treatment in the UK.

A couple wanting a cycle of IVF would pay £5,500 privately in the UK but could pay as little as £2,750 for a round trip to Czech Republic — a saving of £2,750.

For more major hip replacement surgery, the savings are even greater.

For those willing to travel long-haul, the £11,000 private cost of treatment in the UK tumbles to £4,535 in India, including travel and a 16-day stay — a £6,465 saving.

Someone travelling to Turkey could save £2,600 on a tummy tuck. But standard travel insurance does not cover people going overseas for medical treatment so any claim, not just medical ones, will be turned down.

There are a handful of specialist policies, such as Medical Travel Shield and P. J. Hayman, which also cover extras such as medical treatment for complications, additional accommodation costs and travel expenses

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-2141426/Cheap-overseas-surgery-pays-boob-job-tummy-tuck-dental-work-goes-wrong.html#ixzz1vAbfZ9ZB