An American national has successfully undergone a rare back surgery in India wherein four of his backbone discs were replaced in a single procedure. The Indian doctors who performed the procedure claim that this is a first in Asia. The operation was performed by a team of spinal surgeons. The team was headed by Harshavardhan Hegde. The marathon operation involving the replacement of two discs in the neck and two in the lower back lasted over eight hours.

The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) will hold its annual conference in Dubai this year. TAAI is the largest travel trade body in India. This year’s conference- The 58^th Indian Travel Congress, which will be held from September 29 to October 2 will focus on India’s medical tourism industry. The event will be held at the Intercontinental Dubai Festival City.

Diabetes is now the fourth largest cause of death worldwide and is quickly becoming the leading cause of blindness in India. This became the focus of discussion during the Continuing Medical Education Program (CME) of the Varanasi Eye Bank Society (VEBS). The doctors present in the program were discussing diabetic eye diseases and vitreo-retinal management and surgery.

According to the Asian Medical Tourism Analysis for the period 2008-201 the medical tourism industry in Asia will grow at a double-digit rate.

According to a report written by Kenji Hall that came out in Business week’s website last week, Japan aims to develop its medical tourism industry to compete with the other Asian countries such Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore