Coordination for overseas patients

International patient support from first inquiry to follow-up

Practical coordination for an orthopedic visit to Seoul — what to send us, how a visit is arranged, how to reach the hospital, and what happens once you are home again.

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How we can help

Support that lets you focus on your care.

Our international patient team coordinates the practical parts of your visit before, during and after care. Clinical decisions stay with the medical team, after an appropriate assessment.

Orthopedic specialist reviewing knee MRI images with an international patient

Consultation in English

Our orthopedic specialist consults in English, so you can speak with the doctor directly. Interpretation support is also available across the rest of your clinical visit. Support is offered in English only.

Doctor explaining knee MRI scans to a patient during a consultation

Appointments and tests

Consultation timing and diagnostic-test scheduling arranged around your travel dates, where possible in a single visit.

Physical therapist guiding a patient through knee rehabilitation exercises

After you return home

Online follow-up may be arranged when it is clinically appropriate, together with English medical records and certificates.

How to reach us

Start with a message.

Write to us in English, or message us on KakaoTalk. A short summary of your symptoms, your treatment history and any imaging you already have is enough to begin. Consultations with our orthopedic specialist are conducted in English, and we normally reply to written enquiries within two to three business days.

Contact the international patient team Request a medical review

Step by step

Your international patient journey

  1. Medical record reviewSend a symptom summary, your treatment history and any MRI or X-ray records you have. This is a preliminary review, not a diagnosis.
  2. Preparing for KoreaWe coordinate appointment timing, English interpretation and diagnostic-test planning around your travel dates.
  3. Arriving in SeoulBring your original images, reports and a current medication list. Original files are more useful than printed copies.
  4. First hospital visitAn in-person assessment confirms the diagnosis and the options that are appropriate for you.
  5. Treatment and rehabilitationThe clinical team explains the procedure plan, the expected recovery and what rehabilitation will require.
  6. Return home and follow-upKeep your discharge information accessible, and we coordinate online follow-up where it is clinically appropriate.

Deciding between treatments? The clinical evidence page sets out what the published studies show for each option, including their limitations.

Before you write

What to send for a records review

About your symptoms

What you are experiencing, how long it has lasted, what makes it worse, and how it affects walking, stairs, sleep and daily activity.

Your treatment history

Previous diagnoses, injections, surgery or physiotherapy, and the medications you are taking now.

Imaging

MRI or X-ray images are most useful as original files (DICOM, or the CD from your hospital). Screenshots and photographs of a screen are often too limited to review.

Reports

Radiology reports, operation notes and discharge summaries as PDF files. English is preferred; we will tell you if a translation is needed.

What a records review can and cannot do. Reviewing images and reports helps us explain which options are worth discussing and what an in-person assessment would involve. It is not a diagnosis, not a treatment decision, and not a quotation. Those follow an examination at the hospital.

Patient reviewing knee MRI images at home before sending records for review
Most records can be gathered and sent from home, before you plan any travel.

Planning your visit

What to arrange before you travel

How long to plan for, whether you need a visa, how to reach the hospital from Incheon Airport, and what follow-up looks like once you are home — these are set out in one planning guide. Costs and payment are kept separate because they depend on the treatment plan.

Planning your visit

Length of stay, visas, getting to the hospital from the airport, and care after you fly home.

Read the planning guide

Costs and payment

What decides the figure, what the hospital’s charges cover, and how insurance is handled.

Costs and payment
International patient arriving at St. Luke's Hospital in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul
Arrival at St. Luke’s Hospital — one minute from Bulgwang Station, Exit 1.

Questions we are asked

Frequently asked questions

Can I receive a cost estimate before I travel?

Costs are discussed individually after a record review and treatment planning. A preliminary review is not a quotation, because the plan is what determines the cost.

How long should I plan to stay in Korea?

It depends on the procedure and on the rehabilitation it requires. As a rough guide for planning flights, patients considering a bone marrow injection often allow around two weeks in Korea, and those considering CARTISTEM® around four weeks. Treat these as starting points rather than a schedule: the team confirms the length of stay after reviewing your records, and the plan is only final after the in-person assessment. Tell us the dates you are considering and we will tell you whether they are realistic.

Will I have English support?

Yes, and in a way that matters more than interpretation alone: our orthopedic specialist, Yeong seok Lee, M.D., Ph.D., consults in English, so you can speak with the doctor directly rather than through a third party. Interpretation support is available for the rest of your visit — reception, imaging and admission. Support is offered in English only; we do not currently provide other languages.

Can you arrange my travel or visa?

We coordinate medical appointments and records support. Travel, visa and accommodation arrangements remain the patient’s responsibility, but we will work the appointment schedule around your dates.

Will my insurance cover this?

That is decided by your own insurer. We can prepare English medical certificates, records and imaging to support a claim, but we cannot determine the outcome of one.

What happens after I return home?

Online follow-up may be arranged where it is clinically appropriate. Keep your discharge information and imaging accessible, and confirm before you leave who you should write to.

Patient reviews

2,360 public patient reviews on Google, Naver and Kakao Map

Figures as of 7 September 2026, counted on each platform. Naver lists visitor reviews and rated reviews as two separate sets on the same page, and both are included here. Review volume and platform ratings describe how patients rated their overall experience. They are not a measure of treatment outcomes, which differ between individuals.

Next step

Send us what you have.

A short symptom summary, your treatment history, and any MRI or X-ray reports are enough for us to explain what the next step would look like.

Request a medical review Contact the international patient team