Twelve questions that tell you what a clinic is actually like
You can't assess surgical skill from an email. You can absolutely assess how an organisation operates, and that turns out to predict a great deal.
Everyone tells you to “do your research” and nobody tells you what that means in practice. Here's what it means: you send an email with specific questions and you read the answers for two things. Whether the answer is specific, and whether they were willing to give it in writing.
You are not evaluating surgical skill. You can't, and neither can anyone else without medical training. You're evaluating whether this is a well-run organisation that treats international patients as patients rather than as bookings. That's assessable, and it correlates with outcomes more than people expect.
Credentials and identity
1. What is the full name of the surgeon who will perform my procedure?
The full legal name, so you can search it on ReTHUS, Colombia's national health-professional registry. If you get a clinic name instead of a person's name, ask again. If you still get a clinic name, you have your answer.
2. Will that surgeon be the one operating, or could it be a colleague?
Both answers can be fine. An unclear answer is not. You want to know who is holding the instrument.
3. Where will the procedure take place, and what is that facility?
A hospital, a licensed ambulatory surgical centre, or an office. Each is appropriate for different things. If accreditation is mentioned, note that it applies to the facility as an institution — it doesn't transfer to a clinic renting space nearby and it doesn't attach to a doctor.
The procedure itself
4. What is the projected total operating time?
A number, in hours. Especially important for combined procedures, where operating time compounds and longer sessions are associated with higher complication rates. A surgeon who hasn't calculated it hasn't planned it.
5. Who administers anesthesia and what are their credentials?
An anesthesiologist is a physician. This question separates well-resourced operations from thin ones faster than almost any other, and it's the one patients most often forget to ask.
6. What happens if something goes wrong during the procedure?
You want to hear about a hospital transfer agreement, an intensive care pathway, and blood availability. “That doesn't happen here” is not a plan, it's a marketing line.
Money
7. Can I have an itemised written estimate?
Surgeon's fee, facility fee, anesthesia, implants or materials, garments, post-op appointments, massage sessions, medications. In writing, by email, before you fly. This document is your only protection against an arrival-day renegotiation and it costs them nothing to provide.
8. What is not included?
Ask it as a separate question. The answer to “what's included” and the answer to “what's excluded” are frequently not complementary, and the gap is where surprise costs live.
9. What is the revision policy, precisely?
Which outcomes qualify, what the time window is, and specifically which costs are covered and which are yours. Most policies waive a surgical fee and cover nothing else — not your flight, not three more weeks of lodging, not the facility fee. More on reading revision policies properly.
The trip
10. How many days do I need to be in Colombia, and when am I cleared to fly?
Compare their answer against the typical ranges. A materially shorter number isn't automatically wrong, but it needs a specific explanation. “Most patients are fine” is not an explanation.
11. What is the complete post-operative appointment schedule?
Every appointment, on which day, and whether it's included in the price. This is how you find out that the massage series is eight sessions and four of them are extra.
12. Who do I contact if there's a problem after I've flown home?
A named person, a direct number, and a stated response time. This is the single best predictor of how you'll be treated if something goes wrong, and it's free to ask.
Specific beats reassuring. “Dr [full name], ReTHUS registration available on request, at [named facility], projected 3.5 hours, anesthesia by a board-certified anesthesiologist” is a good answer. “Our surgeons are highly experienced and all our facilities are world class” is not an answer at all. Also note the medium: a clinic that will only answer verbally on a call and never in writing has made a choice.
One more thing
Send these to three clinics, not one. Not because you're going to pick on price, but because you cannot calibrate a good answer without a bad one to compare it against. The differences are usually obvious within a paragraph.
For procedure-specific pricing ranges to compare against, start at Colombia Medical. For the rest of the trip budget, the real costs page.
Nothing here is a diagnosis, a recommendation, or a clearance to travel. Your operating surgeon decides your timeline. Verify practitioners on ReTHUS and talk to a licensed physician before making any medical decision.