This private hospital specialising in hair transplants has been innovating ever since it opened six years ago. Now that it has branched out into minor surgical medicine, it needs more space: it is building a brand new hospital in Trou-aux-Biches.

Don’t expect to come across anyone apart from the staff at the centre in Pointe-aux-Canonniers! The whole point of this private hospital has always been to remain discreet and respect people’s privacy. This was one of the major reasons that led the French director, Gérard Guidi, to open his clinic in Mauritius. It was seen as the perfect place for his clients to bring about some changes to their physical appearance without coming across anyone familiar – and at the same time spending a pleasant interval on a small paradise island!

No unpleasant smell and no clinical appearance… the centre is a small house surrounded by lush greenery in the residential area of Pointe-aux-Canonniers. Inside, everything is done to put clients in a relaxed mood… And this is exactly what Gérard Guidi was searching for when he decided to settle in Mauritius.

“I was myself a ‘victim’ of premature baldness at the age of twenty and I have always been interested in the various techniques which are used to try and change this situation,” comments the director of the centre. So he started working in the field while he was still in Paris about twenty years ago. “And then, I thought it was not really pleasant for those who were coming to the clinic to go back to their normal life the day after, as people around would notice the changes in their appearance… This is how we decided we should offer such services a few kilometres away,” he says.

And, one thing leading to the other, a few kilometres became more than 10,000 kilometres. “We first thought we could do it in Reunion but then we realised that Mauritius benefited from high quality service in the hotel industry as well as flights from all over the world,” he recalls. The decision was made: the centre specialising in hair transplants would be relocated to Mauritius.

The director of the centre however admits that the clinic was launched at the right time – as the technology was developing to achieve more transplants in a shorter time. Thanks to the team of twelve ladies – situated next to the operating theatre in a laboratory – the clinic has been able to give quality service to all its clients. All these ladies are trained by Mrs Guidi to make sure the hair is ready for the surgeon to do the best possible job. While in the past you could transplant 1,500 hairs in about four hours, you can now do more than double this number.

According to Gérard Guidi, being in Mauritius represents a certain number of advantages, especially concerning costs. “Such transplants cost about 30 to 50 % less in Mauritius than in Europe,” he points out. As the labour force is far less expensive, it has allowed the centre to offer additional services to its clients while remaining affordable. “Each client is picked up from his/her hotel or bungalow and taken back after the operation. We keep in touch with them to make sure everything is fine,” he explains.

But even more important, the clients coming from 28 different countries of the world last year were all very happy to make such changes in such pleasant circumstances. As it is only a local anaesthetic, the client only spends a few hours of his/her holidays in the centre. The rest is leisure time…

But the centre also addresses Mauritians’ needs. Some of the clients are Mauritians and can even benefit from special tariffs. Depending on the number of hairs transplanted, the price could range between Rs 50,000 and Rs 140,000.

If the core business remains hair transplants, it is true that many patients seize the opportunity of their time at the centre to ask for other services that have started to be offered only recently. Even though Gérard Guidi has always refused to undertake ‘heavy surgery’ (see inset), the centre however does such interventions as definitive hair removal, anti-cellulite or anti-wrinkle treatments.

All these interventions are done with the latest techniques that allow them to treat all skin types with no danger for anyone. However, it is becoming difficult to obtain an appointment for such treatments. “We are not a factory and we can’t afford to take too many people if we want to offer quality service,” he points out. However, he promises that things may change with the new premises in Trou-aux-Biches!

Mauritius, a medical hub?</B>