She then contacted Yasmeen Sayeed of Surgical Tourism of Canada, who was able to make arrangements for her to travel to Delhi at the beginning of July. Sayeed has been arranging surgical procedures abroad for the past five years, and it’s work she takes very seriously. Since March, she’s arranged for 25 mostly-Canadian clients to travel to hospitals in Bangalore and Chennai for CCSVI treatments, and she has an average of five a week scheduled from now on. Delhi will be a new destination for her clients starting in July.

Before sending her first group of nine patients to India, Sayeed went there to meet the doctors, review the facilities and make arrangements with a health spa for post-op recovery time before signing up her first client. She went with that group, which was a good decision because once they arrived at the hospital in Chennai, there was a discussion held between the Head Neurologist and the Head Vascular Surgeon as to whether they would allow the procedures to go ahead. Sayeed, who’s had over 20 years experience in the medical field, wasn’t about to back down and told the bickering physicians she would take her clients to another hospital – one she had already visited and approved suitable – if they couldn’t agree. They agreed and the procedures were performed. Without Sayeed there, on the ground, knowing the culture and the alternatives she had, the first group might never have been treated. And it was only after the first group were back in North America with results she felt were indicative of the success of the procedure did she start signing others up.

With CCSVI treatments not available yet in Canada, and very limited in the USA, overseas facilitators see the opportunity in the market and are trying to fill the gap. Sayeed says, “Obviously there is some unscrupulous stuff going on as well.”

If you’re planning to go abroad for CCSVI treatment and use the services of a third party, you need to do your homework – just like any consumer would do when deciding on a major purchase. I’ve developed the Top 10 Things to Consider When Arranging CCSVI Treatment through a Third Party Provider:

1. Think about how far away your destinations is, and know beforehand that it will be a long time spent in the sky, one or several changes of planes, and jetlag is a guarantee. Remember that your recovery will be longer when you’re jetlagged, and you need to be patient.
2. Think about the country you will be visiting and determine if you would be happy to visit that country if you were going there for a holiday. If going there for a holiday doesn’t make the grade, don’t expect that going there for a medical procedure would be any different. There are huge cultural differences between North America and India, differences that can be exciting and embraceable. But if the thought of 1.1 billion people occupying a country almost a fourth the size of Canada scares you, consider going somewhere else.
3. Food – this can be a culinary adventure or nightmare, depending on your tastes and willingness to expand your horizons. If considering India and haven’t ever been to an Indian restaurant, chances are good you won’t enjoy the food on offer. Consider bringing your own (check with customs to make sure you can, and don’t bring meat, anything fresh or dairy) or consider going somewhere else.
4. The third-party itself: have they made arrangements for this before and if so, ask for references and scour the web for references to that particular company and CCSVI so you can see what people are saying. If no one is talking, that in itself is a red flag.
5. Find out if a guide will accompany your group and ask yourself that if you’re on your own, do you have the courage and savvy to overcome unexpected situations.
6. Find out who will be treating you and ask for their CVs. And read them.
7. Find out if they’ve been trained by anyone and if they’ve seen Dr. Marian Simka or Dr. Paolo Zamboni, give them an extra big checkmark next to their names. In May, Sayeed arranged for a neurovascular surgeon from Delhi to travel to Poland for training with Simka, and he is now sharing his knowledge with the rest of the surgical teams in Bangalore and Chennai.
8. Make sure you have access to 24-hour emergency numbers from your organizer, and that your organizer will be on-call and available in case an emergency comes up.
9. Review the quote you receive and determine if there are any missing gaps. No one wants financial surprises and be real and think about worst-case scenarios. For example, if you’re found to have no stenosis – and already 3 of the 25 who have gone through Surgical Tourism of Canada have come back without being treated – will you be able to return home quickly or will it cost more? Find out, and ask, ask, ask.
10. Make sure you have a “way out” plan. If volcanoes, tsunamis and earthquakes delay your return, make sure you have a buffer to be able to pay for extra costs, including a last-minute ticket home.

Third party organizers can be a Godsend and out of the 25 people who have traveled through Surgical Tourism of Canada to India for CCSVI treatments, I’ve spoken to over a quarter of them and they all praise Sayeed, her drive, efforts and customer-centric attention to details.

Excerpts from an article written by Ms. Colleen O’Shea