Brain and spine surgery, where the volume is.
The brain is the least forgiving place to be a beginner. For neurosurgery more than almost anything else, how many times the surgeon has done your exact operation matters — and China’s public tertiary centres run some of the highest case volumes in the world. This page tells you which procedures we can reach, at which hospitals, on what timeline, at what cost — and, honestly, when you should stay home instead.
Is China right for this? — read this first
We put this above the price on purpose. Neurosurgery is the specialty where travelling is least forgiving of a wrong decision, so the honest filter comes before anything else.
- Your case is a planned, complex resection — a skull-base tumour, a deep or eloquent-area lesion, a case another hospital has already called difficult.
- You’ve been quoted a long wait at home for a tumour that won’t wait, or a price that puts private care out of reach.
- You need a procedure or technology scarce where you live — certain functional neurosurgery, DBS, or radiosurgery capacity.
- It’s an emergency — a bleed, a rapidly deteriorating deficit, acute trauma. Get to a hospital tonight; do not get on a plane.
- Your condition needs months of close neuro-rehabilitation and repeat review. A surgeon who lives where you live will serve you better in March.
- The procedure is equally available and covered at home. The flight buys you stress, not a better brain.
What the pathway actually looks like
Days 1–3 — File review. You send imaging (original DICOM, not photos of the report), pathology if any, and your history. A neurosurgeon reviews it and we translate it.
Video consultation. A named neurosurgeon reviews your scans with you, with a medical interpreter. Written English opinion whether or not you travel.
Pre-travel plan. Written surgical plan and hospital cost estimate in English, before you fly. Invitation letter and M visa documentation.
Admission — usually 2–4 weeks out. A named-professor clinic slot can run to months; we’ll tell you and show the surgeons available sooner.
Surgery and inpatient stay. A medical interpreter beside you at every consultation.
Recovery — the honest part. Neurosurgical recovery is longer and less predictable than most surgery, and some happens after you’re home. English discharge summary, medication guidance, remote review at 1, 3 and 6 months — and we’ll say which follow-up is better done in your own city.
Who would treat you
What it costs — two numbers, never blended
We quote your surgery as two separate numbers: what the hospital charges, and what we charge.
Your hospital bill goes to the hospital at its published rate. We take no referral fee from any hospital, public or private.
The real number, whether that’s four days or five months — in writing before you pay us anything. File opinion in days. Admission usually 2–4 weeks. A named-professor clinic slot can be months; when it is, we show you other qualified surgeons available sooner.
Chinese hospitals are regulated by the National Health Commission, and Grade-A tertiary accreditation is a real audit. Your neurosurgeon is licensed and their rank is verifiable. What differs from home is the malpractice and legal-recourse environment — if something goes wrong, your recourse in China is not what it would be in Germany or the US. For elective brain and spine surgery that’s a real factor, and you’re entitled to weigh it.
