My Experience / Craig Wright
I was suffering from Symptomatic Tarlov Cysts. (A rare condition recognized by the National Organization of Rare Diseases). It is very painful and can lead to paralysis, loss of bladder and sexual control and many other disabilities depending on where it is located on the spine or sacrum.
It was obvious that my insurance was nothing more than a policy written by clever lawyers enabling them to deny anything their doctors, that are ignorant to this relatively new disease, did not feel was necessary. Since they denied coverage of my surgery I had to make a decision. Live for years on various strong addictive pain medications and still be in pain facing possible paralysis and blabbing on chat lines with other people in my situation that don’t know what to do, or seek an alternative
I have been living in extreme pain in my lower back, hips, buttocks, tailbone and right leg for over a year. Could not sit, stand, sleep or walk for more than 30 minutes without Percocet just to take the edge off, still in pain at a (5-7) level with medication, lost my job and although I am 59 years old I have a wonderful younger second wife and an 8 year old son that were so worried about me. I was unable to play ball and teach him to ride a bike and play sports like a dad should. Not working for a year has put us in a financial situation that is not getting any better. Having surgery anywhere in the US was out of the question due to my insurance company’s lack of coverage. Then I remembered a business associate I traveled with through the Middle East and Asia years ago that told me he would never let a doctor in the US touch him or go to a hospital in the US unless it was an emergency. He had all his medical work from Heart Surgery to Hip Replacements in Thailand or India. He told me the hospitals and doctors over there put the US to shame and are a fraction of the cost. That’s when I went on line and found a company called "Planet Hospital" that specializes in "Medical Tourism". What you do is you send them your condition and films and a doctor calls you back (no charge) and discusses your situation with you. He then sends the films and info to dozens of surgeons all over the world. Surgeons that feel they are qualified. Then they send you quotes to have the procedure done all inclusive. I did this and got two quotes from different surgeons in Germany, India. Planet Hospital arranged for the surgeons to call me for phone consultations and I spoke with Dr. B. Walia. I asked him all the same questions about TC's that I asked Dr. Shaya and Dr Long one of the top neurosurgeons in the US that is familiar with my rare condition. His answers were identical. He still said he thought my pain could be from something other than the TC. I sent him the tests I had done here that definitely ruled out all other causes except the TC. He then agreed that the pain was from the large TC on the right side of my S2. I asked him what he recommended. He stated that he could not tell until he went in whether the nerves were just being pressed or aggravated by the TC or if the nerves were engulfed in the walls of the cyst. He had done dozens of these procedures with positive results. If the TC was just putting pressure on the nerves it could be removed. If the nerves were engulfed in the walls he would aspirate it and with Fibrin Glue glue, glue muscle tissue over the cyst to prevent it from coming back. (Laminectomy with Resection) exactly what Dr. Long and Dr. Shaya recommended)
I checked his credentials and he was highly rated. The hospital is rated higher in sanitation and quality of service than most all of the hospitals in the US. Planet Hospital states they use only accredited facilities and surgeons accredited by the US Joint Commission or International Departments that rate facilities and approve them. They also offer all inclusive packages including the entire procedure by the surgeon, all hospital costs, all medications, a concierge to stay with you to interpret or take care of any of your needs and airfare. This also includes the cost of a companion, spouse or family member to accompany you!!
They offer an optional insurance policy that covers any additional costs due to complications if any while in the hospital, $25,000 life insurance and 60 days of aftercare once you return to the US.
I was scared and skeptical of doing something like this but I was at the end of my rope and felt I had no other options. I checked with others that had done this for heart, spinal and many other surgeries and they all said they were so glad they did and that I would not believe how superior the care in India was to that in the US. After much praying and homework and a lot of dedicated efforts on behalf of Planet Hospital and their staff, I boarded a plane with my daughter (35 yrs old) on June 11 for a 22 hour flight to New Delhi India. I was in a wheelchair the whole trip and met by a concierge with a sign with my name and "Planet Hospital" on it. He and two assistants got my daughter’s and my luggage, whisked us through customs and immigrations to a van waiting to take us to a Hilton Hotel next door to the hospital. We rested that night.
The next day “Mr. Prem” my concierge picked us up and we went to the hospital and were put in a room with a hospital bed for me, a sofa bed for my daughter and coffee table visitor chairs, immaculate shower and restroom, satellite TV. Etc. It was as nice as the Hilton. In 8 hours they did all pre-op testing including, EKG, Pulmonary function tests, X rays, blood work and deemed I was cleared for surgery the next day. The hospital was immaculate and the operating room was like something from a science fiction movie from the next century. Dr Walia had met and went over with me on three occasions during the day as to what was going to happen. My daughter and I felt very confident with Dr. Walia ! On June 14, I said goodbye to my daughter as they wheeled me in the operating room. There were about 10 people in the room covered from head to toe with masks and covers. I went under sedation and that was the last thing I remembered.
When I came to in ICU in a private room with 2 nurses by my bedside I was in a lot of pain. They gave me medication and held my hand, rubbed my legs and kept telling me I was fine and ANYTHING I wanted to let them know. They never left my bedside. Dr. Walia came in and sat with me to explain what happened. He told me the surgery went very well! He said the large TC that was the cause of my pain had the nerves totally engulfed in the walls so removing it was not an option. He said there were two other TC's nearby so he did a test to see if they were communicating with each other. They were not but to be safe he aspirated all three cysts and with Fibrin glue and muscle he sealed all three to lessen the possibility that they would become an issue. He sewed me up and said it all looked good. The next day I joined my daughter in the hospital room where she had slept that night. I was introduced to my dietitian and physical therapist that would be working with me for the next 5 days
They are not big on pain medication in India and I was in a lot of pain. The only thing they would give me was morphine which doesn't really work on me for some reason but it made it bearable (6-7). I did not sleep that night. The next day my pain was decreasing down to 3-4. One thing I noticed was that the pain was from the mostly from the incision area not from where the TC was causing pain in my hips, buttocks and leg.
After working with the Physical Therapist, eating right and the 24 hr care by the dedicated nursing, housekeeping and sanitation staff that bathed me every a day, cut my hair, gave me a shave and were just unbelievable. The vice grip that was on my tailbone for a year and the pain associated with it was almost gone. The Physical Therapist that had me doing exercises in bed now had me up and learning to walk correctly, the next day it was stairs. After 5 days I was discharged and checked into a suite in the “Svelte Hotel” across from the hospital that was 5 stars with a separate living room full kitchen, room service and connected to a mall with every shop imaginable. After 4 days there I went back to the hospital, they removed the stitches, did some tests and cleared me to fly home. My daughter and I did one day of sight seeing. We saw the Ghandi Museum and the Lotus Temple. We could have went to the Taj Mahol but I did not want to push it as it was a 4 hour car ride each way and not very smooth. The miracle was I was walking and in a lot less pain then before the surgery.. I asked if I could buy some of the staff a gift or something and I was told by all that, "if I just told them that they in anyway made me feel more comfortable that that was the best gift I could give them". My daughter and I took a picture with some of the staff and had it blown up and framed. We wrote "Thank You to all the staff with all our Love" and signed it. We asked the concierge to post it somewhere and they said the staff would be so happy and proud to receive this picture of thanks.
We flew home, it has not even been 4 weeks and I am just experiencing a mild pain where the muscle and incision were cut. The pain from the TC is almost gone! Dr. Walia said it would be 4-6 weeks to know if the TC pain was 100% gone. Yesterday I walked with my wife and son for the first time in a year along the golf course in our back yard for almost a 1/2 mile and felt great. I don't know how long it will last but Dr. Walia said it should not bother me anymore. I have my life back!
I showed my films and all my pre-op and post-op documents and films to my Pain Management doctor here as he wanted to know how the surgery went when I got back. He doubted going to a third world country for medical work was a good idea. He just shook his head and said, "What are we doing wrong here? What a bureaucracy we are engulfed in. It looks like your surgery went very well.
To sum it up, my incision is barely visible, completely healed. I can sit, walk and hope soon to get back to work and it has not been a month since the surgery! The amazing part of the whole thing is the total cost including the airfare for two, surgery, all hospital costs, medications, hotels, meals, shopping from the time I left the US until I got home was around what my co pay would have been had I had the surgery here and my insurance covered 80%. Yes! The entire trip was around $20,000 !!!! This cost can vary depending on your situation but the cost can be a fraction of the cost of having the procedure done here, and the quality of care was far superior to all my hospital visits in the US. God Bless Rudy Rupak for starting "Planet Hospital" and helping 100's of thousands of people get medical care they could never have afforded. Dr. B. Walia is a talented surgeon with total knowledge of Tarlov Cysts’ and their treatment and he is unknown to the people I know in the US, Europe and Australia that are suffering from this disease. I cannot thank him and his team enough for giving me my life back. I am going to share my experience and post it on the Tarlov Cyst Group. I suggest anyone suffering from a Tarlov Cyst, go to www.planethospital.com and click on the “press/fans” tab and see some of the stories and read some of the testimonials. Then ask Rudy to put you in touch with Dr. B. Walia.
To Rudy, Jenna and the entire staff at Planet Hospital, Dr. Walia and all his staff in New Delhi, all I can say is that your genuine care for your clients and their well being is so refreshing and rare in today’s world. Your attention, hard work and availability at all times to answer any question or assist with any need is unmatched by any company and medical facility I have ever dealt with. God Bless you all!
Posted on 2/21/2011
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Stem Cells for Lupus
My daughter has had lupus SLE for 10 years. When we decided to go to China for a stem cell transplant, Planet Hospital was very professional and efficient in planning every aspect of the trip. They assisted us in obtaining passports and visas. Rudy was especially helpful with creating a website and getting publicity to help us raise funds for the procedure. They also helped us locate a hospital that was very clean, well equipped and had knowledgable doctors, nurses and two interpreters available to us 24 hours every day. There is no way we could have found this outstanding hospital or made the trip to China without the help of Planet Hospital. My daughter and I greatly appreciate their guidance, support, kindness and concern that was available to us before, during and after the trip.
Posted on 4/25/2012
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Thank you PH
Planet Hospital helped me through the toughest times in my life. You don't know how bad a kidney surgery can be until you become a part of the process. I had a major kidney transplant surgery and it was only possible with PH and Rudy's assistance.
I read a lot of rave reviews about their company online but was not sure. Then when I looked at a few bad reviews, I was not sure. But then I saw most of the big medical tourism companies had someone or the other bad mouthing them.
I took courage to contact them. From then on, I started to build confidence. Today, I am back from Mexico and very happy with what I am. Thanks a ton to their team. This review is the just the beginning, you guys are doing a great job!
Posted on 4/23/2012
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Extremely Happy!
Both my wife and I have utilized Planet Hospital to administrate surgeries outside of the United States withing the last 18 months. My wife had a feminine surgery in Panama in Aug of 2010, and I had Hip Replacement in Mexicali last week. Like a lot of people who elect to have surgery out of country to save money, we have a unique condition regarding a our ability to travel. We have a severely handicapped son, Planet Hospital and the company I work for, Bear Mtn. Resorts, worked diligently with us to accommodate our needs
for his care. This issue along with funding the right facilities/doctors have greatly impressed us with Planet Hospital. IF we have to have further elective surgeries - we will be contacting Planet Hospital.
Posted on 3/31/2012
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Rudy Rupak and Planet Hospital's committment
I can speak very favorably on behalf of Rudy Rupak and Planet Hospital. We began working with Rudy a couple of years ago and have been attempting to start a family. We are unable to conceive naturally and so we went to Planet Hospital.
Our first experience did not go very well as we were engrossed in a scam in India with Dr. Samit. We were told many false things about the number of embryos and attempts. None of which happened. This was no fault of Rudy or Panet Hospital, but did leave a lot of doubt in our minds.
Rudy has worked very diligently to get back his reputation and also our confidence. I have personally met Rudy and his staff on 2 occasions and feel very comfortable working with them. Rudy has competely earned our trust and faith in moving forward.
We just recently had a failed attempt, in California, and Rudy's comment to me was "I have not given up on you". This again made me feel confident in his committment to helping us and that he will go the extra mile to help us succeed.
After all that went on in India it would have been really easy to walk away and leave us with nothing. Rudy instead stayed the course and is continuing to do everything in his power to help us succeed. It is this committment that is the reason for giving Rudy and Planet Hospital a 5 star rating.
Posted on 3/26/2012
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PlanetHosital saved my life!
From my first interaction with the founder and CEO, Rudy Rupak, to my handholding through the entire process I was pleased. I was scared out of my mind, but after receiving my surgery, I would do this again, should the need arise.
I don't have the experience to comment on the negative reviews below, only to say that my experience was flawless, and as one with no health insurance, greatly appreciated.
Thank you Planet Hospital.
Posted on 2/17/2012
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Hey, since anyone can write anything about anybody without impunity, facts or verification let me toss my hat in the proverbial ring. I was grateful for what Rudy and PlanetHospital had done for us and I will not forget it, we have two wonderful boys and everything went smoothly for us. I think these negative reviews are a joke. I have personally referred several friends to Planet Hollywood and every one of them have been happy. To those who read these garbage reviews, very simple. talk to the hospitals and doctors that they work with and see if they are paid on time or not, enough said.
Posted on 1/19/2012
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PlanetHospital not a Scam, but all services can't be rendered.
I've used their services several times and have been pleased each time. Sometimes they were a little unorganized, but they have a very complex logistical scheme (I work in international logistics, I understand how quick communication can degrade). If they were doing something untoward with funds there would be severe legal ramifications. SEVERE. As in Mr. Rupak would be having dinner in a fed pen right now, not later.
Surrogacy is risky business anyways. You pay on the hopes that a pregnancy will occur and carry to full term. It doesn't always work that way. Nature still has a way of mucking about our best science. I wouldn't be afraid to use their services for it, but I would understand that its a gamble and that only the doctors and clinics themselves, not the facilitator, is responsible for outcomes.
Posted on 12/15/2011
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I am a very satisfied client of PlanetHospital and I find a lot of what has been said here to be bogus because PlanetHospital is a publicly listed company and they would go through a great deal of financial scrutiny each and every month so I do not get how people can make up stories that they "stole money" etc. It's a public company so they would have to be audited. If I read this BEFORE I became a client I too would probably run away but I am glad I read this after the fact and my judgement was not colored by innuendo and gossip mongering by people bent on nothing more than harm for profit's sake. Thank you PlanetHospital for making my dreams come true!
Posted on 9/30/2011
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Hello, I want to tell anyone and everyone that thanks to PlanetHospital I am able to finally have a child after 7 years of trying. While not everything went as smoothly as it could, PlanetHospital was there to make it as easy as possible. We Hats off to their incredible concierge service. I look forward to going back in 7 or 8 months to bring home my bundle of joy.
Posted on 8/30/2011
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I am fortunate to have found Planet Hospital. They connected me with some of the most professional medical providers I've seen since I was a Hospital Corpsman in the US Navy.
I am disabled and on a fixed income and had some serious dental issues. The VA, at least in CA, does not provide dental services for Vets., and Medicare and Medical dont either. The quotes I was getting in the LA area for the needed services were between $3000, and $4500, which was not within my budget.
Not only are costs outrageous in the US, but the medical community
has in my opinion, lost touch completely with patient care, education, and medical proficiency. (Insurance Adjusters factor into this.)
Planet Hospital connected me with a team of dentists in Tijuana, Mexico.
(The last time I was in that part of Mexico was shortly after bootcamp and was the last place I expected to find the quality of care that I did.)
I was amazed at the attention to detail that even the technicians practiced. The cleanliness of the facility was remarkable and far superior to most medical providers offices I have seen in Los Angeles. No joke. I'm picky as hell! The quality of "doctoring" there quickly put me at ease. The Oral Surgery went very smoothly, and healed faster than I expected.
I have been wondering for years: "what happened to the medical world around here? Where's the professionalism? What's up with the indifference shown by the receptionists and other support staff? Why so are many staph. infections popping up everywhere? (The previous question is a good explanation for the staph. observation.)
My experience in Tijuana with the dentists that Planet Hospital hooked me up with - gave the answer to my questions about the general quality of care and Professional Bearing I used to know: to a large degree, it seems to have moved outside the borders.
I received the services I needed at about 1/4th the cost (the total was less than my roommate's dental deductible)and for me, restored the faith in medicine again.
I still hope for an experience in the US to do the same.
I'm not a celebrity, there's no special attention for me here. But in Mexico, I was treated like one. So were the other patients I saw there, natives and foreigners alike. Planet Hospital found "The Best of The Best" for me.
Thank you Planet Hospital.
Sincerely,
Anthony S.
(I will be happy to share my experience with anyone who wishes to hear. Contact Planet Hospital.
Life is way too short to not get the medical/dental fixes the world of medicine has to offer this day and age.)
Posted on 4/23/2011
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I was very worried about the prospect of going out of the country for surgery, but my fears were alleviated by Planet Hospital. They found me a doctor in Mexico who was not only qualified to perform my gastric bypass but was over qualified. He had been an instructor at UCLA for 2 years doing this procedure. He is gifted at laparoscopic surgery. I had many adhesions that would have caused me to have an open procedure here. The doctor Planet Hospital gave me was able to fix that and an obstructed bowel when I had the bypass. The recovery was much easier than I would have had here. I am thankful I went with Planet Hospital.
Posted on 4/21/2011
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While searching for information on surrogacy providers, we have come
across the information about Planet Hospital (bases in Calabasas, CA)
in stories run in NBC and WSJ. We have contacted the company and found
out that they represent surrogacy programs provided by two clinics,
one in Panama, and another in Hyderabad, India. Having evaluated their
information, we decided to go with a clinic in Hyderabad, Kiran
Infertility Center. In October 2010 we have signed the contract with
Planet Hospital, whose role was to act as payments representative for
the clinic, and in November of 2010 made a stage 1 payment of USD
15,000. In November/December of 2010, while under the impression from
PH staff that our stage 1 payment has already been forwarded to the
clinic, we made a trip to Hyderabad, at additional expense, to take a
look at the clinic for ourselves and to make a semen deposit to start
the process.
We have received no updates from Planet Hospital about our case in
December 2010 and January 2011. After we pressed them for the news, in
February 2011 we have received a phone call from Rudy Rupak Acharya,
Planet Hospital's President and CEO. On that call, Mr. Rupak has told
us that he has uncovered recent medical problems with Kiran (the
provider), and that he now recommended that we use a different
provider in Mumbai to continue with the process. We agreed, and Mr.
Rupak indicated that he will be further in touch to give us details on
the new provider and our next steps.
Another few weeks of silence from Mr. Rupak followed, and in March of
2011, having long started suspecting that we are being lied to, we
have made a direct contact with the head of Kiran clinic in Hyderabad.
We learned form him that no payments have ever been made by Planet
Hospital on our behalf. We also learned that the cases of many other
Planet Hospital's clients intending to use Kiran clinic as surrogacy
provider have been similarly stalled by Planet Hospital. Finally, the
Kiran has assured us that the cases of medical misconduct alleged by
Mr. Rupak never occurred.
Later in March we have been contacted by a new person at Planet
Hospital who introduced herself as a new COO of the company who will
now be supervising all matters related to the surrogacy program. Two
phone conversations later we were told that Rudy Rupak indeed made up
the medical problems story at Kiran to cover up the mismanagement and,
possibly, embezzlement at Planet Hospital. We were also told that the
new management and owners of Planet Hospital intended to forward at
least some payments on our behalf as well as on behalf of a dozen more
clients in our situation to Kiran with a self-imposed deadline of
April 1, 2011, and that we should pursue our private settlement with
Mr. Rupak for the balance. To date, no payments have been made.
Finally, a letter from Mr. Rupak arrived on e-mail offering to enter
the negotiations on private settlement of the matter with the
re-payments of our 15,000 deposit possibly stretching over 3 or more
years. At this point we intend to pursue legal action against Planet
Hospital and Mr. Rupak, and we would warn other prospective clients to
stay away from this company and their potentially fraudulent managers.
We would also ask BBB to withdraw any accreditation of that business.
Why was the review of this company removed?
Posted on 4/10/2011
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more than 20 couples have been robbed of their money from planet hospital, promising serrogacy through kiran clinic in India but never produced any results. We started this process with another couple last November, went to India and gave our inital payments and sperm deposit; to this date, planet hospital have lied to us about the progress and the serrogacy mothers profiles. We are in the process to file suit and request for full refund, and to this date, no money has been refunded. We want to warn other couples who are wishing to have children to STAY FAR FAR AWAY from this company.
Posted on 4/10/2011
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Overall I was very pleased with my experience with PlanetHospital. I am a skeptic by nature and so I scrutinized everything. The Better Business Bureau report on PlanetHospital really swayed my decision. I also liked how they were offering Panama as an alternative as India was not in my comfort zone. I did read one negative blog but when I read other posts on the blog they seemed like they were hard to please people anyways (they actually say in their blog that they wish they had a girl and a boy instead of two girls, good greif). If there was one complaint I had is that their website's ticketing system is very hard to understand and use and I wish the apartment they arranged for me had a better view. So now I too am a father thanks to PlanetHollywood and I could not be happier.
Posted on 1/23/2011
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Excellent company with friendly staff. Great customer service, questions are answered promptly, and procedure arrangements made swiftly. I am a very satisfied customer!
Posted on 12/28/2007
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