Guatemala | Consolidating its Position as a Health Tourism Benchmark in Central America

Guatemala is consolidating its position as a health tourism benchmark in Central America, increasingly emerging as a competitive health and wellness destination in the region combining highly trained medical professionals, state - of - the - art private clinics, and rich cultural heritage, offering a dual experience of restorative treatments and immersive travel.

The country is also positioning itself as a reference destination in highly complex tourism in Central America by introducing a new system, as highlighted by the local Exporters Agency ( Agexport).

The introduction of ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) marks a before and after in Guateamala’s clinical response capacity, which put it a par with other leaders in this sector such as Colombia, Costa Rica Mexico, the entity stressed.

This advanced, lifesaving critical care therapy used for severe, refractory heart or failure, acts  as an artificial heart - lung machine, it extracts the patient’s blood, oxygenates it, eliminate carbon dioxide and reintegrates it into the body, allowing the patient’s vital organs time to rest and recovery.

Typical applications include Veno - Venous (VV) ECMO that supports patients with severe respiratory failure like severe pneumomia and ARDS by managing gas exchange when conventional ventilators are insufficient and Veno - Arterial (VA) ECMO which provides circulatory and respiratory support for cardiogenic shock or following refractary cardiac events.

Until now, Guatemalans and those from the region with severe heart or lung failure had to be transferred abroad in critical condition to access this therapy, with the risks, costs and family anguish that this implies.

The significance of the state - of the - art equipment in Guatemala to face that lies in the construction of a complete ecosystem with internationally certified specialists and nurses prepared to start it up in less than an hour.

ECMO is currently available in top - tier private hospitals in Guatemala City, which maintain specialized “Heart Teams” and intensive care units (ICUs) equipped with advanced technologies.

The Hospital Herrera Llerandi is one of the largest and most technologically advanced hospitals in the region with decades of leadership in highly complex procedures and pioneer in the first bone marrow and liver transplants, integrated ECMO into its Intensive Care Unit.

The hospital boasts a dedicated, multidisciplinary ECMO team of over 26 specialists (cardiologists, intensivists, perfusionists) and utilizes the technology for severe respiratory and cardiovascular emergencies, highly equipped to manage complex critical care and support system.

Agexport stated that the success of the first case, a 25 - year - old recovered after four days of out - of out -- body support, validates not only the investment, but also the maturity of the human team that operates it.

The Guatemalan Agency of Exporters valued that the country meets the conditions to continue promoting health tourism: proven clinical quality, competitive costs, and confidence in the infrastructure adding that the incorporation of ECMO adds a strong argument for the highest - value: critical care medicine and high specialization.

Finally the agency said that the sector has a concrete opportunity to attract patients who previously travelled directly to Houston, Miami, United States, or Bogotá, Colombia.

Link

https://infoturlatam.com/guatemala-referente-en-turismo-de-salud/