Getting a second opinion from a Korean hospital
What records to send ahead, how the deposit and review process usually works, and a realistic stay length if the second opinion leads to further tests.
What to send before you travel
Large Korean hospitals with international centers can review your case remotely before you fly, and this step matters — it's how they tell you whether a second opinion visit is likely to add anything, and roughly what further tests they'd want once you're there. What they typically ask for:
- Pathology report and, where possible, the actual pathology slides or blocks (not just the report)
- All relevant imaging (CT/MRI/PET) as actual image files (DICOM), not just the written radiology report
- A summary of treatment so far — surgeries, chemotherapy or radiation regimens and dates
- Current medication list and other relevant medical history
Verify before you rely on this: Requirements for remote case review and any review fee differ by hospital and can change. Ask the specific hospital's international center directly what format they need records in and whether a deposit is required before they'll do the remote review, not just before treatment.
How the visit itself usually goes
- Remote pre-review by the relevant specialist team, based on the records you sent
- In-person consultation with the specialist once you arrive
- If the specialist wants to confirm or update the picture, additional imaging or lab work at the hospital
- A follow-up consultation to go through combined results and discuss options
If new imaging or tests are added, that alone can turn what you planned as a short trip into a longer one, since results and the follow-up discussion don't always happen the same day.
Deposits and cost structure
International centers commonly ask for a deposit before booking a specialist appointment, applied toward the eventual bill. Because a second opinion can expand into further testing depending on what the specialist finds, ask for a cost estimate that separates the base consultation fee from what additional tests would add, so an expanding scope doesn't come as a surprise mid-visit.
Practical note: Bringing physical copies of key reports in addition to digital files is worth the extra bag space — a hospital's system will not always open another country's file formats cleanly, and a printed pathology report is something the specialist can read while the imaging disc is still loading.
A second opinion can agree with, modify, or contradict your original diagnosis or treatment plan. Bring the contact details of your home physician so either side can follow up directly if the two teams need to coordinate.
Work out the whole trip: open the total cost calculator with 7 nights filled in. That is a planning default, not a schedule — replace it with the dates your own clinic gives you.
Sources
This site is an information resource, not a medical provider, agency or broker. We do not arrange treatment, refer patients to specific hospitals, or receive commission from clinics for introductions. Nothing here is medical advice — decisions about treatment belong to you and a licensed doctor.