Medical tourism is the act of traveling to other countries to obtain medical, dental and cosmetic procedures that cost ten - if not twenty - times more in Western Europe or the United States. The ever-growing list of third-world medical hot spots include Singapore, Hungary, Thailand, Malaysia, and India, to name a few.

Sure, we all know that airfare is kind of pricey these days. But if I were to ever need open heart surgery, I'd certainly rather spend my time pre and post-opp dipping my toes in the Bay of Bengal, strolling through the village of Pushkar in India, or being chauffeured through a Tiger Safari, then surrounded by guilt ridden family members whipping out casseroles in a last ditch effort to make the will. Besides, even with the high cost of last minute air travel, you're still sure to save oodles of cash.

Truth be told, I used to believe that the people who travel thousands of miles to save thousands of dollars on surgery, were the same type of people who believe they're gettin' the real deal when buying a "Rolex" for change off the streets of New York, only to express utter shock and disappointment when, days later, their appraiser says, "Sorry, bud, you got what you paid for." Rest assured, the fears of the sensible consumer are not lost on a majority of the countries hoping to promote themselves as a legitimate low cost medical destination. Numerous hospitals in India alone have attained the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) to help lure those in need (or want) of a low cost procedure, away from some of the hundreds of medical vacation packages popping up on the web that may just be too good to be true.

Just about every surgery - regardless of the doctor or the country in which it's preformed - poses risk of potential complications ranging from mild infection to death. That's not to say, however, that there isn't a sub-category of additional problems that may occur if you choose to go under the knife on an unfamiliar continent. There is. "Exposure to foreign diseases without having built up natural immunity can be a hazard for weakened individuals, specifically for gastrointestinal diseases." And if you're the kind of person who finds comfort with the very American option of filing a medical malpractice suit in the event of things don't go as planned, well then I can tell you straight up that the medical tourism wave isn't one you should consider riding.

I predict that over the next few years you won't be able to visit a travel agency, or inquire about an international vacation package, without being given the option of a little nip-tick - at a substantial discount - before your trip back home to the states. And with all the problems surrounding our current health care system, not to mention the rising cost of insurance, why not?