General Surgery with Sanitas
Two numbers matter here and they pull in opposite directions. A planned operation is not covered for ten months. An emergency operation is covered from the day your policy starts.
What general surgeons operate on
Mostly the abdomen and the soft tissue around it. Hernias, which are the most common single reason people end up here. Gallbladder removal. Appendix. Haemorrhoids and other lower bowel problems. Lumps and cysts that need taking out. Thyroid surgery.
Specialised areas go elsewhere: bones to orthopaedics, heart to cardiac surgery, brain to neurosurgery, blood vessels to vascular.
The waiting period, stated plainly
This is the most important thing on this page.
Planned surgery needing a hospital bed is not covered for the first 10 months of your policy. Outpatient procedures, where you go home the same day, are covered after 3 months. Consultations are covered immediately.
Emergencies are covered from day one, with no waiting period at all. A burst appendix, a strangulated hernia, anything genuinely urgent. The wait exists to stop people buying cover for an operation they already know they need, not to leave you stranded in a crisis.
So if you have a hernia that has been grumbling for two years, take out the policy and expect to wait most of a year before it can be fixed on insurance. If it strangulates tomorrow, you are covered tomorrow.
Going private for surgery
The two reasons are speed and choice. Public waiting lists for non-urgent surgery in Spain run to many months. Privately, once the waiting period has passed, you are usually operated on within weeks of deciding.
You also pick the surgeon and, in most cases, the hospital. That is worth more than people expect, because you can ask around, get a second opinion, and choose someone who does your particular operation often.
Where the general surgeons are
664 clinics across 49 provinces, with 1,194 named specialists between them – and you can book any of them yourself, without a referral.
- Barcelona – 112 clinics, 200 surgeons
- Madrid – 111 clinics, 225 surgeons
- Malaga – 39 clinics, 36 surgeons
- Valencia – 36 clinics, 73 surgeons
- Seville – 26 clinics, 65 surgeons
- Murcia – 24 clinics, 40 surgeons
- Cadiz – 20 clinics, 43 surgeons
Language at the appointment
For an operation, being understood is worth going out of your way for. Consent, risks, aftercare and what to watch for afterwards are all conversations you want to follow properly. Ask us and we will check who is near you and what languages they work in.
What you pay
On a no-co-payment plan, nothing for the consultation or the operation once the waiting period has passed. On a co-payment plan you pay a fixed amount for appointments; the surgery itself is still covered in full.
See every Sanitas waiting period in one place, including how switching from another insurer waives nearly all of them.
Find a general surgeon near you
Browse general surgeons in the Sanitas directory – by province, with addresses, phone numbers and a map.
