Plastic Surgery in Europe: The State of the Practice

Plastic surgery is more popular than ever — a good plastic surgery from a competent doctor has the ability to completely transform your life. Sadly, this is precisely why it is so expensive — there is an extremely high demand for plastic surgeons. 

This is why medical tourism is especially popular. Many people don’t mind travelling to another country if it means a higher quality of service or a lower cost. And in the case of plastic surgeries, if you travel to the right destination, it often means both. 

Europe is a popular target for medical tourism from all over the world. People everywhere from China to the United States come to the continent to carry out their life-changing surgeries. 

One thing that’s very important to keep in mind is that Europe is a very diverse continent, and each region has its own characteristics and medical culture. In this article, we’ll explore the state of plastic surgery in every European region. 

Western Europe

Western Europe has the most advanced healthcare system with the best practitioners in the continent. Despite all these advantages, Western Europe isn’t a popular destination for medical tourism, and especially plastic surgery. This is because of the exuberant costs clinics charge. 

If you undergo a specific surgery in Western Europe, you can expect to pay as much as 3 to 5 times more than Eastern or Central Europe. Not everyone can afford these prices, and oftentimes, the quality of service doesn’t justify the price. 

Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is probably the most popular destination for medical tourism from both within Europe and from Asia, and people from the Americas are increasingly starting to realize it is a great destination too. 

Its increased popularity is due to a few reasons: 

• Years of record economic growth has allowed the region to quickly improve its medical infrastructure and compete with its counterparts from Western Europe. 
• Its excellent education systems have allowed Eastern European countries to systematically churn out very talented professionals that are the leaders in their respective fields. 
• Being a destination that is both convenient for Western Europeans and Asians, it is geographically in an excellent place for visitors. 

Although, it is important to add there is a wide disparity between Eastern European countries. Countries like Belarus are not welcoming places with excellent medical establishments — on the contrary, they receive almost no medical tourism, and it is for very good reasons. 

On the other hand, countries like Poland have had a long history of welcoming medical tourists and have excellent medical infrastructure making them a great destination for patients. This is especially true for plastic surgery, Poland, which has a well-established tradition.  

Northern Europe

Northern Europe isn’t a typical medical tourism destination. In fact, on the contrary, it is the place where most medical tourists come from. This is because, much like the Mediterranean region, the services in these places are often overpriced without the quality of the services compensating for it. 

There is one notable exception, however. Most of the cutting medical research in Europe happens in Northern and Western Europe, so, when new treatments and techniques become available, they become available first in these two regions. So, if you want to undergo very specific procedures, you often have no choice but to go to Northern Europe for it. But, for most commonplace plastic surgery operations, there are better regions in Europe to travel to. 

Southern Europe

Southern Europe is another region that has a diverse array of countries. The Mediterranean countries (Itay, Spain, and Portugal) are generally known for their expensive medical treatments and sub-par services. Because it is only slightly less expensive than Western & Northern Europe while offering lower-quality services, people usually just opt to travel to Western or Northern Europe instead to carry out their surgeries. 

This completely changes when you reach the Balkan region of Southern Europe, however. They offer the cheapest services in all of Europe, and people from the rest of Europe usually travel to countries like Serbia to carry out medical operations when they want to save money. 

Although, unlike countries like Poland in Eastern Europe, the Balkan region’s healthcare system is far less properly regulated and shadier. It is not uncommon to hear horror stories outside of this region, so you have to do a lot of research on a particular medical establishment before you put yourself under the knife there.