People from all around USA treated at Nordorthopaedics

 I was looking at a cost for total hip replacement and  rehabilitation just shy of $50,000 US Dollars. With this in mind, I could also expect the  following.. My emails and messages to go unanswered for weeks. Medical billing with codes  impossible to decipher if you are not in the medical field, quite often over paying for services or  in some instances charged for services that were not provided, that will take months to rectify or,  if extremely unlucky the hospital turns it over to collections and destroys your credit. After  surgery you can also expect overworked and understaffed nurses to check in on you as their  time allows, most patients try to keep their hospital stay as short as possible so as not to incur  the outrageous charges for inpatient care, usually around $1200 us. a day. 

 My Journey 

After days of deliberation I finally sent an email to Nord Orthopedics in Lithuania inquiring about  their hip replacement procedure and what it might cost. The following morning had an email  waiting for me from Emilija of Nord Orthopedics outlining all costs associated with the surgery,  time frames, transportation to / from airport, hotels and clinic etc. A complete break down of  everything. I sent Emilija and Nord staff a total of 88 emails in all, that were promptly answered  and waiting in my email each morning. That in itself is amazing! I also watched videos posted  and read every review I could find from former Nord Orthopedics patients and their experiences.  I then decided to schedule my surgery with Emilija. 

She handled everything. She informed me that the clinic is closed on Saturday and Sunday and  suggested I allow myself one day to settle in after arriving in Kaunas Lithuania, where the clinic  is located. One day for blood work and x rays. Then have the surgery the following day. I then  would need to stay two days at the clinic after surgery, and have nursing staff available 24 hours  to check on me. Afterword be transferred for Rehab to either Nord Clinic Apts. or UPA Medical  Spa, which ever I choose. I chose UPA Spa simply for the fact that meals were provided for me  and I chose to stay for 8 days rehabilitation. The UPA Spa is very nice and excellent staff, but if I  were to do it again, I would choose Nord Apts. so I could select and cook my own food. (I’m a  very picky eater) and be close to outdoor activities, coffee shops, shops, etc. At UPA Spa your  outside of city a couple of miles. 

Day of surgery arrived and I was shown to the room I would be staying in and met my roommate  for the next 2 days, a terrific gentleman of German Ancestry now living in Italy, also there for hip  replacement surgery. Our surgeon, Dr. Sarunas Tarasevicius came into the room and explained  what would take place and asked if we had any questions. Extremely nice guy. I found out later  he has done over 5000 hip operations. We then met with our Anesthesiologist who asked us a  few questions and put our minds at ease. I should note that the whole medical staff was great  and calmed any stress that we might be feeling. I was then taken into a state of the art operating  room with friendly staff, I was told that they were going to spray a cold liquid on my back in  preparation for surgery. I felt this cold liquid hit me… and the next thing i knew I was waking up 

being rolled into my room with a very nice view to sleep and recover. First night was a little  rough but my roommate Mark and I had quite a few laughs. Nurses were there within 4 minutes  for whatever we needed, from pain medication to actually getting us both a cup of coffee. The  day we were going to be transferred to rehab. Dr. Tarasevicius came to see us once again,  pulled up a chair and provided details of our surgery, what to expect and what we need to do in  the following weeks to ensure a great outcome. He also explained the implant used in each of  our surgeries and answered questions. When was the last time you had a Surgeon do that? I  should note that in doing my research on Nord Orthopedics I found that Dr. Tarasevicius has  had over 150 papers published with regard to hip replacement surgery and speaks at seminars  around the world, including here in the USA. 

Billing for procedures was straight forward, in writing and easy to understand. Every single item  Nord said they would do, they did. The implant chosen for my surgery was “Smith and Nephew”  One of the world’s leading companies in medical technology and orthopedic implant  manufacturers . Something else to consider is the much lower revision percentage when  compared to the USA. ISAR official data, only 3% of Nord surgeries need revision in 10 years  and in 20 years that number is 15% while the USA number is 17% in 10 years. 

The whole process is so easy. It really is. My biggest concern was the travel but it turned out to  be easy and very affordable also. I flew into Amsterdam Netherland and from there its a 2 hour  flight on Air Baltic Airlines to Vilnius Lithuania where Nord Clinic was waiting to take me to my  hotel in Kaunas Lithuania. When booking your flight ask for “ wheelchair assistance” for the  whole trip both ways. An airline representative will meet you outside the plane and will wheel  you through customs and passport security, takes about 17 minutes and then takes you to your  connecting flights gate. Walking through Amsterdam Airport is over a mile so I strongly suggest  this route. 

I opted to stay the first 2 days at the Raddison Hotel in Kaunas. Honestly was the quietest hotel  I have ever stayed in, and beds were very comfortable with friendly staff and good restaurant .  Nord staff sent me a text message each afternoon letting me know what time they would be  picking me up the following morning. Payment for services is required the day before your  surgery and like I mentioned, billing is straight forward and easy to understand. from first contact  with Emilija to driving me back to the airport to fly home, the process couldn’t have been any  easier.  

3 weeks since I had my surgery and I’m so grateful for Nord Clinic’s professionalism and  services. total cost was about 1/3 of what i would pay in the United States ( and that included  the round trip airfare) because of our hospitals mark up. I can honestly say that even if a  hospital here in the USA offered to do the surgery for free, I would still choose Nord  Orthopedics.