Cottonwood man travels to New Zealand for medical tourism
By Tim Vetscher
ABC-15
COTTONWOOD, Ariz. (Oct. 18, 2009) -- For as long as he can remember, Ben Wordinger has had a bum shoulder.
Two surgeries and countless trips to Arizona hospitals did little to ease the pain.
"I was tired of taking pills, tired of watching the clock to take the next pill just to take the edge off the pain to function," admitted Wordinger.
Now, at age 51, doctors figured Wordinger likely would need an implant.
Insurance, however, wouldn't cover the cost estimated anywhere from $80,000 to $120,000.
"When you're in a lot of pain, you'd go around the world 10 times to get out of pain, that's where I was," Wordinger said.
Wordinger didn't have to go around the world, but he came close.
Through a friend, Wordinger learned about Medtral, a company based out of New Zealand that offers medical tourism.
Doctors there said they could do a shoulder transplant for 1/6th of what it would have cost Wordinger here in the United States.
"Hmmm, let's see, 1/6th the cost by a doctor trained here with materials made here," said Wordinger. "That's a no-brainer."
"I think there should be come concerns," said Paul Stander, Chief Medical Officer at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center.
Stander says Good Samaritan's doctors often see patients who have had complications from overseas medical care.
