First National Consensus on the Safe Practice of Medical Tourism for Bariatric Surgery in Mexico

Medical tourism is increasing every year, especially in fields such as bariatric surgery. Global concerns rely on the fact of its safety, mainly because of a lack of standardization, unknown number of cases, and the type of specialists performing such procedures. Mexico continues to be among the top countries receiving patients from abroad, but there is no national consensus, guidelines, or recommendations about the practice in such fields.

A group of 32 bariatric surgeons with an accumulated experience of 25,196 procedures in the medical tourism modality were gathered to perform a national consensus in bariatric surgery tourism. The Delphi methodology was used for this project, with a total of 52 items applied. A consensus was reached when the experts' position was ≥ 70% for each statement. The items included pre- and postoperative phases, patient selection, follow-up, and ethical and legal considerations.

Of the 52 statements, 40 (76.9%) reached a consensus of ≥ 70%; 36 in favor, 5 against, and 11 with indeterminate responses.

Although more than two-thirds of the statements related to high standard practice reached a consensus, weak points in the medical tourism modality were identified. This first consensus serves to establish the basis of safe practices, eventually reach national guidelines, and define the top standards of care when performing bariatric surgery tourism.