Terms starting with C

CABG

Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) is open-heart surgery in which a healthy blood vessel, taken from the leg, arm, or chest, is used to create a bypass around one or more blocked coronary arteries. It restores adequate blood flow to the heart muscle and is indicated when coronary artery disease cannot be adequately treated with stenting or medication alone.

Cannula

A thin, hollow tube used in surgical and medical procedures to aspirate fluid, deliver medication, or introduce instruments into the body through a small incision or natural orifice. In liposuction, a blunt-tipped cannula is moved back and forth through the fatty tissue to dislodge and suction away fat cells.

Capsular Contracture

A complication of breast implant surgery in which the scar tissue capsule that naturally forms around the implant tightens and hardens, potentially causing pain, distortion, and a firm feel. It is graded on the Baker scale from I (normal) to IV (severe hardness and distortion) and may require surgical correction.

Cardiac Rehabilitation

A medically supervised programme of exercise, education, and lifestyle support designed to aid recovery following a cardiac event such as a heart attack or bypass surgery. It typically includes structured physical exercise sessions, dietary advice, and psychological support to reduce the risk of future cardiac events.

Case Manager

A healthcare professional, often a nurse or social worker, who coordinates all aspects of a patient's care pathway, liaising between the clinical team, insurers, and the patient to ensure continuity, efficiency, and appropriate resource use. In medical tourism, a case manager may accompany international patients or manage their journey remotely.

Cédula Profesional

The Mexican professional licence number issued by the Dirección General de Profesiones (Secretaría de Educación Pública) to qualified medical practitioners. Every doctor practising in Mexico must hold a valid cédula; patients can verify a clinician's licence directly through the federal registry at cedulaprofesional.sep.gob.mx.

Certified Translation

A translation of a document, such as medical records or a birth certificate, that is accompanied by a signed statement from the translator or translation agency affirming its accuracy and completeness. Many hospitals and embassies require certified translations of medical documents for visa applications or treatment planning.

Chargeback

The consumer-protection right under most credit-card scheme rules to claim a refund from the card issuer when the merchant has failed to provide the contracted goods or services. Coverage limits, conditions, and time limits vary by jurisdiction.

In medical tourism: Paying a deposit by credit card is one of the strongest single patient protections in medical tourism. The chargeback right is not perfect but adds a layer of recourse that bank transfer and cryptocurrency lack.

Chemotherapy Cycle

A scheduled period during which a patient receives a course of chemotherapy drugs, followed by a rest period that allows the body to recover before the next round of treatment. The length and frequency of cycles vary depending on the cancer type, the drugs used, and the patient's response to treatment.

Claim Denial

A formal refusal by an insurance company to pay for a medical service, procedure, or treatment that the policyholder has submitted for reimbursement. Denials may be issued on grounds including policy exclusions, lack of pre-authorisation, or the insurer's determination that the treatment was not medically necessary.

Clinical Trial

A rigorously controlled research study in which new medical treatments, devices, or interventions are tested in human participants to evaluate their safety and efficacy before they are made widely available. Patients travelling abroad to access experimental therapies should verify that the trial is registered on a recognised registry such as ClinicalTrials.gov.

COFEPRIS

The Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risk (Comisión Federal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios) is Mexico's primary regulatory body responsible for overseeing the safety and quality of health facilities, medicines, and medical devices. COFEPRIS accreditation is a key quality indicator for hospitals catering to medical tourists travelling to Mexico.

Compassionate Use

A regulatory pathway that allows patients with serious or life-threatening conditions to access unapproved or experimental treatments outside of a clinical trial when no satisfactory alternative exists. It requires approval from the relevant national medicines authority and is sometimes sought by international patients when treatments are unavailable in their home country.

Complication

An unfavourable medical event or condition that arises as a direct or indirect consequence of a disease, procedure, or treatment, beyond the expected course of recovery. Complications range in severity from minor and self-limiting, such as bruising, to serious and potentially life-threatening, such as pulmonary embolism.

Complication Policy

The written terms under which a clinic manages complications during and after the surgical episode, including who pays for in-country treatment, transit treatment, and home-country treatment. A defensible policy names a cap and a process.

In medical tourism: Complication-cost disputes are the single largest category of medical-tourism complaints. A clinic that will not put a complication policy in writing is signalling that the patient bears the complication cost, regardless of verbal assurances during sales.

Compression Garment

A tight-fitting, elasticated garment worn over the treatment area following procedures such as liposuction, abdominoplasty, or breast surgery to reduce swelling, support healing tissues, and help contour the final result. Surgeons typically prescribe a specific garment type and wearing schedule as part of the post-operative protocol.

Compression Stockings

Elasticated hosiery designed to apply graduated pressure to the legs, with the greatest compression at the ankle decreasing towards the knee or thigh, to encourage venous blood flow back to the heart. They are routinely prescribed after surgery and during long-haul travel to reduce the risk of deep vein thrombosis.

Cooling Off

See Cooling-off Period.

Cooling-off Period

A statutory or contractual window during which a consumer can withdraw from a contract without penalty after signing. Cooling-off periods are common in distance-selling and door-to-door contracts in many jurisdictions; their application to medical-tourism contracts varies.

In medical tourism: Patients signing a medical-tourism contract should check whether a cooling-off period applies in the relevant jurisdiction and whether it covers the deposit, the balance, or both. The absence of a cooling-off period in the contract is a working assumption that no withdrawal right exists.

Corneal Flap

A thin, hinged section of corneal tissue created during LASIK surgery, typically using a microkeratome blade or femtosecond laser, which is lifted to allow an excimer laser to reshape the underlying corneal stroma. The flap is then repositioned and adheres without sutures, facilitating rapid visual recovery.

Cross-Border Healthcare Directive

European Union legislation (Directive 2011/24/EU) that grants EU citizens the right to seek planned medical treatment in another member state and claim reimbursement from their home country's health system up to the cost of equivalent treatment at home. Post-Brexit, the directive no longer automatically applies to UK patients, though bilateral agreements may exist.

Crown (Dental)

A tooth-shaped prosthetic cap that is placed over a damaged, decayed, or weakened natural tooth, or on top of a dental implant abutment, to restore its shape, strength, and appearance. Crowns are fabricated from materials including porcelain, zirconia, metal alloys, or porcelain fused to metal.