The healthcare system and hospital facilities in Belgium

Offering some of the best medical treatment in the West, an excellent reputation in its hospitals and clinics and with many of its doctors fluent in English, Belgium is a top choice for cosmetic surgery abroad. The high level of cosmetic and plastic surgical expertise evolves from many years of training - all doctors are trained for a minimum of seven years and specialists for 12 years and the high quality health care system is renowned world-over. For example Belgium was top of the list for best heart treatment in Europe according to a European Heart Journal analysis of 24 European countries.

Belgium has a large number of private hospitals and the independent status of its hospitals means that revenues and profit are ploughed back into new equipment and technology. In a recent study by The World Markets Research Centre (a leading provider of independent business and industry intelligence) Belgium ranked top for medical purposes out of 175 countries, not least because secondary infection rates average less than 0.5% compared with around 10% in the UK, and in some places increasing. Hygiene and post operative care are first rate and international statistics show cases of MRSA are non-existent in Belgium.

Flexibility in the hospital infrastructure means that patients are seen almost immediately and more often than not after cosmetic surgery, for example, patients can leave the clinic on the same day.

Prices are far more competitive in Belgium. A tummy tuck in Belgium costs from €4,200 and a total hip replacement is possible for €10,400, around six times less than the going rate in the USA.

Getting to/from and around Belgium couldn’t be easier with a fast convenient Eurostar train service from London, good road and rail links with other parts of Europe and easy access to international flights at Schiphol, Brussels, Paris and London. Once here, there is an easy-to-navigate public transport network. The climate typically northern European, with warm summers and cool winter.

With top class care, cleanliness, efficiency and affordable cost Belgium really is a very viable option for surgery abroad.