Why sticker price alone is misleading
A $9,000 knee replacement requiring 12 days of lodging and a $6,000 LASIK procedure requiring 3 days of lodging aren't directly comparable on procedure price alone — the shorter-stay procedure carries much less incremental lodging cost.
A simple version of the metric
| Procedure | Procedure cost (typical) | Required stay | Lodging @ ~$80/night |
|---|---|---|---|
| LASIK (both eyes) | $2,400–$4,400 | 3–4 days | ~$240–$320 |
| Dental implants (per tooth) | $1,385–$1,600 | 5–7 days | ~$400–$560 |
| Knee replacement | $9,000–$14,000 | 10–14 days | ~$800–$1,120 |
| Spinal fusion | $12,000–$25,000 | 14–21 days | ~$1,120–$1,680 |
Lodging figures use a representative recovery-house or hotel rate; actual costs vary by city and accommodation type.
How to use this
Add the lodging estimate to the procedure cost for a fuller total, then compare that combined number to your domestic self-pay quote — not just the procedure fee to the procedure fee.
Shorter-stay procedures like the ones on colombialasik.com and colombiadentist.co post the strongest cost-per-recovery-day numbers on this site.
The Takeaway
Longer-recovery procedures still typically win on total savings given how large the base price gap is — but the margin shrinks the longer your required stay, so factor it in explicitly.