[Tom B.]

Originally Posted by annapurna

To give partial answers:

Communication: really depends on the surgeon and their office. Some are better than others but, in general, everyone's consensus here is that they're reasonably good. There's always a few real stinkers so check into posts about any given surgeon once you start narrowing your list.

Payment: Again, depends on the office. We've paid by bank transfer, credit card and by cash, depending on who we were paying.

Tourism representative: Personal opinion is to avoid them and only use them if you're stretched on your research time to the point where you can either research the medical stuff or the location. Buying a Lonely Planet book or similar plus a little time on the internet typically gives you enough to get a feel for an area. Pretty much all of the surgeons you're likely to see in Europe aren't in places that tend to be abusive towards tourists.

Going by yourself: Can be done but you're likely to need more recovery time and more help. If you do this, I can't argue strenuously enough to pack light. Use the money you would have paid for the second ticket and figure that you'll go through that same amount making travel easier for yourself. It can range from taxis and help during travel, purchasing some stuff overseas, leaving behind travel-only purchases when you return to make your returning luggage lighter, etc.

annapurna, thanks for the advice. I read on here somewhere about checking the exchange rate used by your bank (for paying the hospital) - don't know much about that. The other thing I'll have to look into is how to pay for things there. I've been to Germany twice, but that was back when people used travelers checks.