Tourists have traditionally been lured to Phuket by its tropical beauty, splendid beaches and numerous watersports. Today visitors still come for these reasons, but increasing numbers of them are combining their holiday in the sun with a visit to a health practitioner. Low prices, skilled personnel, modern facilities and easy accessibility to a smorgasbord of health-related services are proving irresistible to increasing numbers of visitors each year.

Worth a potential five to six billion baht a year to the local economy, the emerging medical tourism industry on Phuket is seen by health-care providers as a lucrative market. With world-class facilities, medical equipment and highly skilled, multi-lingual professionals, the potential of this niche growth industry is enormous.

Medical services available in Phuket are remarkably diverse: stylish prescription eyeglasses; visits to the dentist; sophisticated physical examinations; involved medical procedures and operations; and a variety of popular traditional Asian therapy alternatives that are fast climbing in popularity in the West. Add unbeatable prices and the friendly hospitality for which the Thais are famous, and it is easy to see why Phuket is becoming more than simply a place for a tropical vacation.

Phuket International Hospital (www.phuket-inter-hospital.co.th) and Bangkok Phuket Hospital (www.phuket hospital.com), the island's two major hospitals, openly court foreigners and have special facilities and personnel designated for overseas guests. Both hospitals have translators and many of their personnel are proficient in more than one language. Furthermore, in addition to speaking Thai, virtually all Thai doctors speak excellent English. Like any tourism-related product, a medical vacation can be paid for with plastic. Both hospitals accept major credit cards. The best way to contact either of these hospitals initially, even if you are in Phuket, is via the Internet.

Everyone is aware of the importance of frequent medical examinations. The price tag, however, keeps many from having these important periodic check-ups. Phuket International Hospital, Bangkok Phuket Hospital and the venerable Mission Hospital Phuket have a variety of reasonably priced physical examination packages for foreign visitors. The hospitals all have a basic check-up plan for about 2,000 baht (US$45) designed for patients under 40 who have no physical complaints. Additional programmes for older people, or those with specific concerns, like couples about to get married, are also available. After you receive your physical examination, a physician will discuss the results with you and you will receive a booklet you can take with you that summarizes the results in English.

Having dental work done while on holiday is especially popular with foreign visitors. There are some excellent clinics in Phuket Town and both Bangkok Phuket Hospital and Phuket International Hospital have special centres devoted to dentistry. Thai dental schools are excellent and the country's dentists reflect this fact. In addition, a surprisingly large proportion of them have been trained at Western universities. An added plus when dealing with a Thai dentist is the gentleness for which they are famous. Perhaps it is their small hands, but for some reason, they seem able to eliminate much of the discomfort commonly associated with visiting the dentist. Another major discomfort eliminated at Thai dental clinics is cost. Dental work is much less expensive than in the United States, Europe or Japan. Another refreshing feature is the fact that you won't have to wait weeks for an appointment. Most clinics in Phuket can accept patients within a day of initial contact.

Among Phuket's healthy attractions, eyeglasses are high on the list. Savvy travellers know that purchasing their spectacles or contact lenses while on holiday can significantly reduce the cost of their holiday. Phuket town and Patong Beach offer numerous shops with trained optometrists and a wide variety of local and imported frames. Eye examinations are usually free, and the lenses and frames are often less than half of what they would be in Japan, Europe or North America. For someone requiring bifocals, plastic lenses and quality imported frames, the US$500 price tag often found at home will probably run no more than US$225, a saving that just might pay for the plane ticket that brought you to Phuket in the first place.

As with any purchase, comparison shopping is essential for obtaining quality merchandise and the best price and service. If you are purchasing sunglasses, either with or without corrective lenses, be sure to buy them in an established shop with a good reputation. Designer sunglasses are sold openly as imitations by sidewalk vendors, but they can sometimes make their way into nearby shops where they are marketed as the real thing.

Both Bangkok Phuket Hospital and Phuket International Hospital offer more extensive services that are also attractive to foreign visitors. Treatments range from non-invasive procedures to relatively complicated operations like cosmetic surgery and hip or knee replacement surgery. Taking advantage of these options is obviously a more serious step than a physical examination and foreigners need to do some homework. Before undergoing surgery, no matter where you are located, you need to feel comfortable with the hospital, physician and the nursing staff.

As with any medical provider, anywhere in the world, operations requiring anaesthetic have a degree of risk and should not be undertaken lightly. Loss of life does occasionally occur from the effects of anaesthesia and other complications of surgery. However, the Thailand Medical Council ensures all hospitals and practitioners are liable to provide a high level of training, service and care in this country.

Visitors to Phuket with impaired kidney function often have a kidney dialysis done while on holiday. Both hospitals specialize in this treatment, and they both have clients who return each year for a hemodialysis during their annual holiday. Knee and hip replacement surgery is an operation often undertaken by foreign visitors. Compared to other places in the world, the cost is extremely reasonable. At the present time, hip replacements run between 150,000 and 260,000 baht (US$3,335 to US$5778) and knee replacements from 200,000 to 250,000 baht (US$4445 to US$5556). An added feature, of course, is that recuperation and therapy take place in Phuket's magnificent resort atmosphere.

Peter Davison, Manager of International Services at Phuket International Hospital, says that foreigners come to the hospital for a wide variety of reasons. He admits that price is a factor, but also believes the quality of the work performed and the friendly hospitality of care givers are equally important factors. When asked how foreign patients discover the hospital, he points to the fact that many people come to the hospital after having previously been on holiday in Phuket. "The initial holiday makes people familiar with Phuket and establishes a necessary level of confidence. When they get back home, they often check our website and then establish contact with us for treatment on a subsequent visit. Others hear about us from friends or simply discover us on the Internet."

When asked what other operations are popular with foreigners, Mr Davison points to cosmetic surgery. The prices for these operations, which are rarely covered by medical insurance, are much lower in Phuket than in Western countries or Japan. A popular procedure at Phuket International Hospital is hair transplants. It requires only local anaesthesia and a short post-operative recovery period. Popular surgical procedures include liposuction, face lifts, abdominal lifts and breast enhancement surgery. All of these procedures are also performed at Bangkok Phuket Hospital.

Perhaps the most controversial treatment offered, but certainly a very common one, is sexual reassignment surgery. Dr Sanguan Kunaporn, of the Plastic Surgery Center in Phuket Town is known throughout the world for his proficiency in changing men into women. Trained in both Thailand and the United States, he has been operating his centre in Phuket since 1991. The operation, which in essence removes the penis and creates a vagina, is a serious business and something that should not be undertaken lightly. It takes six hours to perform, requires fifteen days hospitalization and numerous counseling sessions. Dr. Sanguan, who has performed the operation on patients ranging in age from 19 to 72, is affiliated with Phuket International Hospital and performs much of his work at the hospital. The operation is also performed at Bangkok Phuket Hospital and, of course, at several hospitals in Bangkok.

A special unit at Bangkok Phuket Hospital is the Bangkok Dermatology Center (www.bkkdermato.com). Situated in a tranquil setting on the second floor of the hospital, it was established in 1989 to "provide medical services related exclusively to skin conditions and cosmetic laser surgery." The centre not only takes care of general dermatological problems like psoriasis, rashes and hair loss, it also performs a variety of laser procedures such as removal of moles, warts, black spots, birthmarks and unwanted tattoos. A host of cosmetic procedures like alpha hydroxy acid peeling, micro crystal peeling, botox treatment and collagen implantation are also available. Highly popular in Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia, these cosmetic treatments are more cost-effective in Thailand when combined with a vacation. Highly trained in aesthetic laser surgery, Dr Orawan Kitchawengkul operates the only Cold Laser clinic in Thailand. A day spa also offers holistic skin care using traditional techniques.

Some people come to Phuket seeking alternative treatments to those common in Western countries. Both of the hospitals, for example, offer acupuncture treatment. Phuket International Hospital even has a special centre licensed by the Thai government for acupuncture treatment. Acupuncture has proved effective in treating certain chronic conditions that sometimes don't respond to traditional Western medicine. These include things like migraines, back pains and bronchial asthma. It is also sometime effective with troublesome addictions like smoking.

In recent years Phuket has become a destination for those seeking to improve and maintain their health. A holiday combining both of these reasons for visiting Phuket can create an experience that will never be forgotten.