Prague, Aug 6 (CTK) – Foreigners spend over half a billion crowns on cosmetic surgeries, artificial insemination, obesity treatment, gynecological procedures or visits to spas in the Czech Republic a year, plastic surgery expert Ondrej Mestak has told CTK.
The medical tourism grows by up to 15 percent annually, Mestak, from the plastic surgery department of the Na Bulovce Hospital in Prague, said.
With the quality of the treatment, the Czech Republic is among the best in Europe, Mestak said.
The foreigners’ interest is influenced by the quality and price. When it comes to the latter, the Czech Republic is in the 13th place within 35 European countries, leaving behind it Italy or Britain.
The price in the Czech Republic is twice or three times lower. In Germany, breast augmentation costs the equivalent of 200,000 crowns, but only half the sum in the Czech Republic.
“Medical tourism is primarily motivated by the effort to save the costs,” Mestak said.
“The patients travel to the countries in which the costs of a surgery are much lower than where they live,” Mestak said.
“In addition, they often do not undergo a single surgery during a visit, but they plan several medical interventions at the same time. On average, there is one and a half surgery per one foreigner,” Mestak said.
However, medical tourism is connected with the question of safety, he added.
The surgeries should always be performed only by a plastic surgeon, never by a surgeon with a different specialisation, which may sometimes happen, Mestak said.
Plastic surgeory globally insist on four factors: a well-equipped clinic, a right, not risky patient, a well indicated surgery and the right surgeon, Mestak said.
If the patients use the services of a certified surgeon who may be a member of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), this is relatively good, Mestak said.
Sufficient post-surgery check-ups may pose a problem, he added.
However, a surgery performed by a doctor without a sufficient practice and certification may be quite risky, Mestak said.
“In the Czech Republic, the situation in the sphere of patients’ safety is good, perhaps better than in Western countries,” he added.
“On the other hand, there is still space for an improvement. I come across the patients who were hurt by unprofessional care,” Mestak said.
