SinoHealth · Elective surgery in Shanghai
Waiting months — or years — for planned surgery on the NHS? There is another way. SinoHealth arranges consultant-led operations at Shanghai's leading Grade 3A hospitals, with an English-speaking coordinator beside you from first enquiry to the flight home. Usually one trip of one to two weeks.
Illustrative only; your written quote is confirmed case by case after assessment. Day-case operations take about a week; major joint & spinal surgery are planned over roughly two weeks. You travel home only once a doctor confirms you're fit to fly.
Making the decision
You can keep your place on the NHS list and still look into a faster route — the two aren't mutually exclusive. Choosing to explore private treatment abroad isn't giving up. It's refusing to let a waiting list decide how you spend the next year of your life: in pain, on hold, waiting for a letter.
Why weeks, not years
On the NHS, each step — first appointment, scan, pre-op, surgery — is a separate wait. We compress the whole pathway into a single, coordinated visit to Shanghai. Same clinical steps; a fraction of the calendar.
This is an honest comparison, not a shortcut on safety. Timings depend on the procedure and your health, are confirmed after a review of your records, and your journey home is scheduled only when a doctor assesses you as fit to fly. Major surgery means a longer stay.
How it works
One coordinator manages every step. You send us your records; we handle the hospital, the doctors, the interpreter, the logistics — and the handover back to your GP.
Message us your procedure and any scans or letters. We review them with our medical partners at no cost — and tell you honestly whether we can help.
We propose a suitable hospital and surgeon, a day-by-day itinerary, and a written, itemised quote — confirmed for your case before you commit to anything.
You're met in Shanghai. Your surgeon reviews you in person, with a medical interpreter present at every appointment.
Pre-operative checks and a general health screen, then your operation at a leading Grade 3A hospital.
Supervised recovery with anti-clot precautions. You fly home only once a doctor confirms you're fit to travel.
You leave with a written medical summary for your UK GP, plus remote follow-up support from your coordinator.
Day-case procedures (for example cataract, arthroscopy, many hernia and gallbladder operations) are typically completed in around a week. Major joint replacement and spinal surgery are planned over roughly two weeks to include early rehabilitation.
Procedures we arrange
We focus on high-volume elective surgery — the routine, well-established operations where waiting hurts most and a coordinated trip abroad makes the clearest sense.
If your planned operation isn't listed, ask anyway. We'll tell you honestly whether we can arrange it.
Ask about your procedureThe cost
Going private in Britain can mean five figures for a single joint. In Shanghai, the same class of operation at a leading hospital usually costs a fraction of that — even after flights and a comfortable hotel. Below are rounded, illustrative figures to give you a sense of scale, not a quote.
| Procedure | UK private (self-pay), typical | With SinoHealth, indicative |
|---|---|---|
| Hip replacement | £12,000 – £15,000 | from ≈ £6,000 |
| Knee replacement | £13,000 – £16,000 | from ≈ £6,500 |
| Cataract surgery (per eye) | £2,500 – £3,500 | from ≈ £1,200 |
| Hernia repair | £3,500 – £5,500 | from ≈ £1,800 |
| Gallbladder removal | £5,500 – £8,000 | from ≈ £2,500 |
Advanced medical technology
China's leading hospitals operate at the frontier of surgical technology — the same class of robotics, imaging and minimally invasive techniques used in the best centres anywhere, backed by some of the highest surgical volumes in the world.
Robotic and navigation systems place hip and knee implants to sub-millimetre accuracy — sharpening alignment and consistency beyond the surgeon's hand alone.
Every operation is planned in 3D from your own scans, with real-time guidance during surgery to reduce guesswork and cut radiation exposure.
Laparoscopic and endoscopic approaches for hernia, gallbladder and gynaecology mean smaller incisions, less pain and a faster journey home.
Safety & standards
Choosing surgery abroad is a serious decision. Here is exactly what we put in place, and what we won't pretend.
Surgery is arranged at Shanghai's top-tier tertiary (三甲) hospitals, including Shanghai East Hospital — high-volume centres with international departments.
Your records are assessed by our medical partners first. If a case isn't suitable to do this way, we tell you — before you spend a penny.
You fly home only when a doctor confirms it's safe, with anti-clot (VTE) precautions in place. Major operations mean a longer stay — we won't compress that.
An English-speaking coordinator manages your trip and a medical interpreter attends every appointment, so nothing is lost in translation.
You return with a written medical summary and operative notes to hand to your UK GP, so local follow-up care continues smoothly.
Your coordinator stays reachable after you land and can help arrange remote follow-up with your surgeon if any questions come up.
Patient stories & news
See what treatment in China is actually like, and keep up with the technology and therapies making it a serious option for patients from Britain.
I felt comfortable from the first consultation and the whole process was much smoother than I expected. The team explained every step clearly, and I was very happy with my recovery.
I chose to have my cataract surgery procedure in China after researching my options carefully. From the initial consultation through to my follow-up care, I felt well looked after and supported throughout the journey.
I had been considering rhinoplasty for several years but was nervous about having surgery abroad. The consultation was very detailed, and I felt comfortable with the surgical team throughout the process. My recovery went smoothly, and I’m very pleased with the result.
In the news
A fully Chinese-developed robotic arm for bone and joint operations completed its first successful clinical use at one of the country's top teaching hospitals — a milestone for domestically built surgical robots.
Source: PR Newswire →
MicroPort's Honghu became the first Chinese-made joint-replacement robot to win regulatory approval across China, the United States and the European Union — putting Shanghai on the map for robotic orthopaedic surgery.
Source: MicroPort →
Chinese developers are pushing metabolic-disease care beyond blood-sugar control toward broad ‘systemic benefit’ — multi-target, long-acting and oral drugs that improve weight, lipids, liver and heart-kidney health together, with several now licensed by global pharma.
Source: PhIRDA →This feed is easy to keep current — swap in new patient stories, hospital updates or press coverage as they appear, with a date and source on each item.
Common questions
Start here
Confidential, and with no obligation. Send us what you're waiting for and any scans or letters you have — we'll review them and tell you honestly whether we can help, and roughly what it would involve.
WhatsApp +852 6218 3814 · Email consultation@sinohealths.com