Poland Surgery

[Bob1981]

Good luck!  Wish I was going with you mate, I've been hoping to go all year but there hasn't been the opportunity to get off work! 

[NotFedup]

sorry i havnt been around much but ive just had a 3 week shirtless holiday
im nearly 11 months post op now and although my chest isnt 100% perfect im happy with the 95% that it is.
I wont be going for any revisions as my mind is at rest now
before when i took my shirtt off people would stare but now nobody bats an eyelid
wish id done the op 20 years ago

[april24th2007]

What happened to all you poland guys?

We need updates...

mark what is the website of cliinc in Brussels doing th esurgery for only 1100 euros?

[gersin008]

Thanks guys for an excellent post, after reading about every message in this I've decided to go for the operation. I contacted Andrzej Baranski st the weekend and got an appointment on April 1st. I have so many questions and fears that I can't list them in one go but did wonder if anyone knows how far Wroclaw is from Sublice? as my local airport has planes going there but not Berlin

[outertrial]

Thanks guys for an excellent post, after reading about every message in this I've decided to go for the operation. I contacted Andrzej Baranski st the weekend and got an appointment on April 1st. I have so many questions and fears that I can't list them in one go but did wonder if anyone knows how far Wroclaw is from Sublice? as my local airport has planes going there but not Berlin

Please check some of the more recent feedback concerning Dr Baranski rather than just looking at this thread. Type Baranski into the search field. Dr Baranski has certainly had successes and the medical care at the clinic is well thought of, but he's also had some complaints which arent represented in this thread.

[gersin008]

Appreciate the balanced view and had checked some of the other posts but I do think the positives with Poland outweighs the negatives, or maybe I'm clutching at straws?

[outertrial]

Appreciate the balanced view and had checked some of the other posts but I do think the positives with Poland outweighs the negatives, or maybe I'm clutching at straws?

If youre going there because you are confident that its the right place with the right doctor to give you the results you want then its a good choice.

If youre just going because its cheap, well.

[gersin008]

If I was getting it on the NHS completely free I wouldn't be confident, equally I wouldn't be if I was paying £10k at a Harley Street surgery. Its a combination of right price, ease of appointment and peoples testimonies on here

[DJB]

I had my surgery with Dr Baranski last friday.  Flew out on the thursday, op friday, flew home on the saturday, returned to work this monday.  Very happy with the entire experience.  Richard (very nice guy) was waiting for me when I arrived In berlin, the hotel in Sublice I stayed at was great, both Dr Baranskis (husband and wife) and all their staff are great people.  The level of care at their surgery is second to none, it puts our NHS to absolute shame.

Am I happy with the results?  Right now I am 95% happy.  I had excision only, they took 50cc (is cc the correct measurment?) out of my right pec and 60 cc from my left nipple.  My right nipple is now totally flat, any flatter and it would be indented and my left nipple is about 10% away from being totally flat.  However, I cannot feel any gland under either nipple.  All I can feel is fat which I knew I would need to lose and I can feel like watery swelling.  Infact I would say today the left side was slightly flatter than it was even yesterday.  Again, I cannot feel gland under either, so confident the left is just more swollen.

Pain wise....I am amazed.....ALMOST none.  The night of the day I had my surgery I would put the pain at a maximum of 2 out of 10.  The day after I had full movement and no constant pain whatsoever, the only time it hurt is if I pushed on the nipples and even then I would describe it as just very sensitive nipples.  I was moving around with full mobility right after the surgery.  It has improved every day since.  As I said I returned to work on monday feeling the same as when I left work the day before my op.  The thought of taking a pain killer has at no point crossed my mind.

I think total cost for my op, excision only, local anasesthetic, with compression vest was about 1215 Euros.  Entire experience was completely smooth.  Loved the clinic and partly miss being there, great food, great care, great people, great room with CNN on my t.v all day lol. 

I plan to return to the gym a week thursday.  Need to let the wounds heal and then focus on losing the fat.  I have over an inch deep of soft fat on my chest that needs to go. 

Gonna hold off sending a big thank you email to the clinic for a week or two, just incase things for some reason take a turn for the worse and I need a revision.  Right now though you have probably guessed, ALMOST totally happy.  The rest is up to me.

[april24th2007]

Please keep us up to date about this surgery.

Pls post pictures pre & post

Also is local where they knock you out or keep you awake?

Cause I remember the Dr. telling me they always give you the knock out juice.

Was Anthony there.. Any other patients having the same surgery while you were there..

[DJB]

Very sorry but I was unable to take pictures before the op, I dont have a camera phone or digital camera.  I'll do my best to get some post surgery pics and also see if I have any pics that show my gyne.  I consciencely always pinched my nipples before photos though, which made my chest look far better.

Anthony was not there unfortunately, Mrs Baranski acted as translator, lovely lady and did a great job with her English.  Its a very good set up at the clinic.  Very sorry some of you guys are needing revisions, I guess its a difficult surgery to get 100% correct.

Local is where you're still awake, they numb the area and can give you some sedatives to relax you and sort of put you in a half sleep, but you are still awake and fully know what is going on.

[gersin008]

Congratulations DJB, just under 4 weeks to go for me so got it all 'to look forward to'

One quick question if you don't mind. My operation is on a Tuesday. I guess that means I stay at the hotel on the Monday and go the clinic on the Tuesday morning. Do I stay in the clinic 2 nights and will I be okay to fly home on the Thursday?

[DJB]

Thanks Gersin.  Yes you will arrive in Berlin on the monday where Richard the taxi driver will pick you up (he'll be waiting at your arrival gate with your name on a card).  He will then take you to the hotel Kalinski in Sublice (2 minute drive from the clinic).  You will then need to be at the clinic for 9am on the tuesday, Richard will pick you up and take you if you ask him, cost about 3 Euros.  They like for you to stay the 2 nights, so yeah you're fine to fly back on the thursday.  Richards fee is 70 euros each way. 

I enjoyed the food, it was always a salad, slices of deli meats and different kinds of breads.  They make a delicous soup and hot main meals for dinner.  There is a t.v in your room, however CNN is the only English speaking channel, which got a little boring.  If you're interested in the American Election though you're in for a treat.

The young Nurse/Secretary that took the money is absolutely gorgeous ;-)

[gersin008]

Look like I may be falling in love then

Thanks for the information, looks like their customer service is excellent.In the emails they have sent they did say it was an option to get the half hourly train to Frankfurt-Oder and then a taxi to Sublice from there, my initial thought was to go to Frankfurt from my local airport, Glasgow Prestwick but didn't know that was 700km from Frankfurt-Ober (my geography letting me down big time) Looks like I will be best to travel to Glasgow International instead and go to Berlin like the vast majority on here

So you are feeling fit now? Please let us all know how you get on, though I do go to the gym a few times a week I was more concerned about my golf and thought it be a good few weeks before I could do that. Anyone else played golf after the operation and how soon?

[CAP]

I had my surgery (excission and lipo via the nipples) at the start of November.

I know others have expressed their opions here and in other threads... so thought I'd share some more of my opinions and experience of having the surgery in Poland.

Getting the negatives out of the way first:

1. Richard the taxi driver didn't really have any English and did not seem to respond to smiles etc.  I didn't find him to be the really great guy others have mentioned him to be (perhaps he had two 'off days').  His car is rather old and the boot doesn't quite shut properly.

2. The hotel (according to my mate who went with me and stayed there) is rather grim.  As is the town itself.

3. Anthony (is that his name? I may have that wrong) has quite poor English, so communication of any great detail was difficult and added to my stress levels.  Mrs Baranski has much better English.  They made me sign a waver basically getting them out of having to do any revision work for free... which I thought a bit worrying.

4. Dr Baranski appears to have no English... but then I only saw him for a total of about 30 seconds.

5. The results are not perfect, which again I think is down to the lack of being able to communicate with them properly.

6. I wore the vest for about 10 or 12 weeks... which by the end is a real pain in the bum.

Now the positives:

1. Although nowhere near perfection, the result is a marked improvement on what I was like pre-op... and I'm happy with that.  I was able to go on holiday a month ago, just three months post op and take my shirt off, and for the first time felt more selfconscious about my wobbly belly than my chest!  It was very liberating

2. The nursing staff in Poland are great.  Pain relief on tap.  The food, while a bit odd, was really tasty.  The clinic is spotless inside. (only downside is watching CNN for the whole day after your op).  I ended up going for a walk to the river... quite a distance with chest drains attached to your chest and elasticated stockings falling down your legs.

3. I'm not waiting for some random NHS butcher to come at me with a rusty fork anymore... and mental relief of finally doing something about it is almost as good as not having pointy nipples.
 
4. There is really no pain post op... once I got home I only used arnica cream and pills to help with the bruising.... and some cream for stretch marks that is meant to help the skins elasticity. Didn't need any pain killers.

5. The vest really does help, and you should wear it... it'll also give you an instant flat chest.  People will probably comment on how you've lost weight.

6. I told my friends about the op, also my sister... not my parents.  Nor did I tell my work.  I simply said to work that I was having surgery... they did not ask what it was... and I ask my line manager to keep it confidential from the other guys as I didn't want to talk about the surgery.  My GP gave me a line that just said recovery from surgery.  I took two weeks off, but could have gone back after about 5 days I think.  None of the people who I kept it from noticed anything amiss.  My parents wanted me to help with lifting some furniture when I got back, so just told them I had a sore shoulder.  Enjoy the time off... take it easy.

7.  The stitches around the nipples confused the nurse at my GPs, as they had never seen such neat and unusual stitching technique and couldn't figure out how to get them out.  In the end it was a simple case of snipping at both ends and yanking straight out in one quick pull... which was painless.

Hope some of that helps. I wish someone had told me that communication was going to be such a big barrier... it wouldn't have stopped me (don't let it stop you) but I would like to have been prepared for that. 

All the best mate; and keep in mind that whatever the result, it will be better than what you have now... and probably no worse (indeed probably better) than you'd get from the NHS.