The surgery is half the bill

The number a clinic quotes is the surgeon's fee, the operating room, and the implant if there is one. It's rarely the number you'll actually spend.

Before surgery, most patients need local bloodwork and imaging — clinics vary on whether they'll accept results from your own doctor or insist on repeating them on arrival. After surgery, physical therapy, follow-up scans, and medication (antibiotics, pain relief, compression garments, sometimes a brace or walker) are billed separately from the surgical fee unless the package explicitly says otherwise.

Flights typically run $800–$1,500 round-trip [VERIFY: source] — more if the procedure is spine or joint surgery and you can't sit upright for a long flight home, which usually means business class or a lie-flat seat, not economy. Add 14 to 21 nights of accommodation for recovery, commonly $1,000–$3,000 total, plus food and local transport.

If someone travels with you — which most surgeons will ask you to arrange for anything beyond a short cosmetic procedure — budget a second flight and their food and lodging for however long you're both there. Some hospitals let one person stay in your room at no extra charge; it's worth asking directly, since it can save more than a week of a separate hotel bill.

What to add to a clinic's headline price, before you compare it to anything else:

• Surgeon fee, operating room, and implant — the number in the ad.
• Local bloodwork and imaging, before and after.
• Physical therapy and follow-up scans.
• Medication: antibiotics, pain relief, compression garments, any brace or walker.
• Flights — business class or lie-flat if you can't sit upright afterward.
• 14–21 nights of accommodation, plus food and local transport.
• A second flight and living costs, if someone is traveling with you.
• A contingency for anything that runs long.