DR PETR JAN VASEK

Excerpt from an interview with Doctor Petr Vasek in the Czech Republic's top selling Cosmetic Surgery glossy magazine, 'Estetika' 02/2007 (translated into English):

When Dr Vasek decided to leave the then Czechoslovakia, in 1978 it wasn´t as easy as it is these days.

Dr Vasek left Czechoslovakia in 1978 for Canada and life initially was no bed of roses. However, Dr Vasek prevailed and went on to become Departmental Head of University clinic in Toronto and during the last 10 years of his stay in Canada he became the head plastic surgeon (facial unit). During this time he performed thousands of operations. A large portion of his time was also spent lecturing medical students.

In 1984 Dr Vasek re-located to South Africa, Dr Vasek explains that this was a challenging and rewarding time for him professionally, procedures that were elsewhere performed only a few times a month were everyday procedures here. Dr Vasek also had a renowned private practice during his time in South Africa, where he treated many V.I.P.'s from the United Kingdom, South Africa and many other countries.

Eventually Dr Vasek was drawn back to his homeland and he returned to Prague, he fell in love all over again with the beautiful and magical city of Prague and decided, together with his wife, to return to the Czech Republic. In many ways it felt like a new country, things had changed so much; the country and its people had a different philosophy and lifestyle from the country he had left in 1978.

During his time in North America Dr Vasek worked with all sorts of people, from the rich and famous to everyday people wanting to look their best. Nowadays, in the Czech Republic, he also looks after everyone from celebrities to everyday people, things have changed a lot in the Czech Republic and what used to be regarded as the reserve of only the rich and famous in America, is far more commonplace and accepted in the Czech Republic. Of course, the prices here in the Czech Republic are so much better than in America or the UK for example.

Dr Vasek believes in making sure that patients have a realistic view of what can and can't be expected from cosmetic surgery and he goes to great lengths to make sure that as a result of the consultation process, the patient has realistic expectations.