Press reports

<News items in German>

Success for Dr. Baranski!

In a review of all Polish private hospitals and clinics made by the leading Polish newspaper "Rzeczpospolita" in October 2004, Dr. Andrzej Baranski's clinic and his staff was classified as the best private clinic for cosmetic surgery in all of Poland.

 

Matthew Day in "Poland Monthly"
Date of publication: May 10, 2004
Copyright Poland Business Publishing Sp. z o.o.

Surgery Abroad

More and more foreign tourists are traveling to Poland in a bizarre form of tourism that combines plastic surgery with vacationing abroad. The reason is simple: Polish surgeons are skilled, practical - and relatively cheap.

Noreen had never really contemplated a visit to Poland. For the 45-year-old housewife from Ireland, the country had not aroused much interest and she found that it languished under a negative stereotype that cast it as backward and predominantly agricultural. All this changed when she decided to have a face lift. Faced with the prospect of huge bills for her cosmetic surgery in Ireland, she began to shop around for alternatives - and came across an advertisement for a firm, Euromedica, which offered surgery in Wroclaw. "It was advertised in a magazine," said Noreen. "I read it, called and did some checking, and basically I liked what I learned."

In May she went to Wroclaw, underwent surgery, and in so doing became one of many to boost a flourishing niche market in Poland. The combination of prohibitively high costs for procedures such as plastic and dental surgery, and cheaper airfares, has encouraged more people to consider traveling abroad for treatment. Poland, with its low costs and geographic proximity to Western Europe, is rapidly becoming a destination of choice for those willing to experience what is often called medical tourism

Andreas Ciesla, owner of the German firm Esculap Services, confirmed the that the market is growing. Each month his company sends around 20 people to a Polish clinic just across the border from the town of Frankfurt am Oder and said the sector is on a rise. "I've been in business for seven years and business has been constant over this time, but with the growth of my company's name more people are going to Poland for operations," he said. Ciesla added that he was confident that the easing of cross-border travel resulting from EU accession, which should eliminate traffic congestion on the German-Polish border, should also boost trade. Alina Deeble, the founder and director of Euromedica, holds a similar opinion. "I hope it will expand and I think it will," she said, adding that her company has invested GBP 160,000 in a 2,000 square-meter clinic in Wroc³aw with enough rooms for 30 patients to recover.

Just why people choose Poland has much to do with price. Procedures that might require a second mortgage in some countries can come at a bargain price in Poland. According to Deeble, a face-lift in the UK can cost GBP 7,000 to GBP 8,000 with another GBP 1,000 for a one-night stay in a clinic. Her company offers the same procedure for GBP 2,800 and that total includes, she said, air tickets, surgery, food and daily care. The cost factor has also favored other branches of medicine, and dental care in Poland is also proving an attractive incentive for foreigners willing to travel. "We don't have people coming through the doors, but usually they are calling from the United States to ask about methods and prices," said Witold Pasek, spokesman for the Vita Medical Dental Institute in Kraków, which has been open for five months. "Then we send them more information about the doctors, the treatment, and we make an appointment," he continued. "Usually, it's a whole family coming over. As the percentage of patients goes it's pretty small - less than five percent. But for amount of money earned it's about 20 percent [of the clinic's revenue] because if you are coming from the States you want a lot of work done - not just a single cavity."

According to Pasek, some procedures in Kraków are as much as 10 times cheaper that they in the United States, but in general are around four-times cheaper. A crown, he said, could set a patient back $4,700 in the States while in Kraków it costs $1,100. With such potential savings, Pasek has found that many of the clinic's patients, many of whom have Polish links, also combine their dental treatment with a holiday. Such is the interest, he said, that the clinic has had calls from American tourist companies asking if they can assist with accommodation and programs once the tourist/patient has arrived in Poland.

Interest and future clients could also come from Western European countries. According to Pasek, German insurance companies have expressed an interest in sending people to Poland for some dental and medical care because of rising prices in Germany. Ciesla also plans to profit from the popularity of dentists in Poland. In a plan that will probably cause consternation for German dentists, he wants to offer dental work across the border in Poland, just an hour's drive from Berlin. He also added that EU integration should raise Poland's profile and help erase some of the negative stereotypes still present in the minds of many Western Europeans.

Those in the business are also keen to point out that cost is not the only factor when it comes to choosing Poland for surgery. Deeble explained that not only do patients pay less money but also that the money can go further. Patients with Euromedica get after-care treatment to make sure that no complications arise - something that Noreen appreciated and, she feels, gives Poland an advantage over her native Ireland. "Some of the procedures done in Ireland. I just think they are dangerous," she said. "You are literally allowed to go home after the operation. You can go home and you don't know whether to be worried or not. Here you get care every day from a nurse."While a patient may get more treatment for their money they might also have a greater range of treatment to chose from. Magdalena Blaszczyna, director of Ekstetika, a company that offers cosmetic surgery in Warsaw, said that Polish surgeons have a willingness to learn new practices not found among their British peers. "People want to learn more here," she said. "In Britain they think they know it all, but they don't. For example there is an operation for lifting the eyebrows. They don't do it in Britain, but they do it in Poland with great effect so I think the state of cosmetic surgery in Poland may be better than in England."

While some see advantages in going abroad, the growing popularity of medical tourism has raised concern in some circles. Although nobody has expressed worries about people going abroad for dental work, some have warned about leaving home for plastic surgery. "As a surgeon I frown on 'holiday surgery' and am amazed that people go for these so-called deals," said Douglas McGeorge, a British consultant plastic surgeon and a council member of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS). "Usually counseling for the patient is inadequate, they have no idea of the standards of care in the country they are visiting and no knowledge of the abilities or experience of the surgeon." Critics also stress that if something does go wrong with the surgery then the complications could cancel any financial gain. "Cheap can be expensive, if patients need things put right or are worried, and if they need a follow-up consultation they may have to fly back," said another BAAPS council member, Adrian Grobbelaar. "That additional cost can wipe out the original saving. Alternatively, they may have to pay a surgeon in their home country to review the procedure or the national health service gets burdened with it."

BAAPS also points out that seeking legal redress in a foreign country can prove difficult. Language barriers, a lack of support groups and the distance involved can all undermine and diminish the chances of an individual gaining compensation if mistakes occur in their surgery. Euromedica's Deeble conceded that she had heard of a story of people coming to Poland for surgery that had ended in an "absolute catastrophe" and that choosing a company could be a "hit and miss" affair. Having said that she added that anybody considering plastic surgery abroad should find out as much detail about the company concerned and in particular try to speak to people who have already had surgery with that company. Despite the concerns expressed by professionals, Noreen had no complaints about her stay in Wroclaw, and believes that it will become a favored destination in the future. "I'll highly recommend it to people back home," she concluded.

 

Pressemeldungen auf Deutsch