India Forecast: Use of Medical Procedures Will Double by 2013

Use of Medical Procedures Double by 2015

Almost 17 million surgical procedures were performed in India in 2009, achieving an annual growth rate exceeding 18%, according to TrialMed India. Driven largely by the private sector, the volume of surgical procedures is set to double by 2013.
Indians are facing a life time epidemic in Diabetes, weight gain, metabolic syndrome. The procedures in OB/GYN and ophthalmic interventions accounted for a staggering 87% of the surgical procedures performed in 2009. Ophthalmic procedures are disproportionately high in India because of a large population with reversible blindness: 12 million Indians are estimated to suffer from preventable or reversible blindness. Not-for-profit hospitals specialised in eye care provide treatment to the poor, with an estimated 5.3 million cataract removal surgeries and intraocular lens implantations performed in 2009.

Caesarean section delivery is the main OB/GYN surgery performed. It is estimated that almost two in three births conducted in private hospitals in urban Indian cities are performed using this procedure. The popularity of C-section deliveries is partly because private hospitals encourage patients to choose it as it provides a higher profit margin than vaginal delivery, but also because educated and affluent Indian women are opting for a C-section to avoid pain during delivery.

The increase use of coronary stents. India will become one of the biggest markets to use treatments to curb diabetes in the form of medical device implants like GI Dynamics, VallantX, Onciomed, Allergan, J&J products. Medtronic has an insulin pump, but may not have anthing in the weight loss market which solves the diabetes and weight loss problem-short term or long term.
Estimated over 30 million Indians will be pre diabetic or diabetic by 2015. A third of them will need weight loss treatments like the lapband or other weight loss devices. Assuming 10 million people needing weight loss treatment and each device cost INR 200,000 that is approx $4000 the market size for weight loss  treatment is approx $40B in India alone. China is not too far behind.