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Heart bypass surgery · Poland

Heart bypass surgery in Poland: what it costs and how it compares with waiting at home

Prices checked 27 October 2026 (Taipei time)

Short answer

Poland providers publish heart bypass operations only inside bundles with other tests, so we show them but leave Poland out of the price comparison.

Published price
Bundles only, not comparable
Price is for
one coronary artery bypass operation (CABG) with the hospital stay its package includes; the number of grafts and nights differ, so each row says what it includes
Where
Kraków
Providers
1 (John Paul II Hospital, Kraków (public))
Soonest booking
Not published: ask in writing
NHS England wait
Just over 100 days (April to September 2025, published June 2026)

Published heart bypass surgery prices in Poland

Every row is a price the provider publishes itself, read on the date shown. We copy what the price includes and what it leaves out; where the provider does not say, the row says “not stated”. We do not use prices from brokers or medical-travel agencies.

Heart bypass surgery prices in Poland
ProviderPublished priceWhat the price is forSource
John Paul II Hospital, Kraków (public)Kraków23,760 PLNabout £4,530 · €5,410 · C$8,470 · $6,050CABG – zabieg pomostowania tętnic wieńcowych [coronary artery bypass operation]; off-pump 26,400 złOperation fee only, from the cardiac surgery price list for patients without Polish insurance. The stay is billed per day on top: 4,000 zł a day on the cardiac surgery ward, 10,500 zł a day in intensive care. Price list in force from 1 January 2024, still linked on 27 October 2026.Not comparableKrakowski Szpital Specjalistyczny im. św. Jana Pawła IIread 27 October 2026

Prices are copied as published, in the provider's currency. Conversions use the European Central Bank reference rates of 23 October 2026 and are rounded. A provider can change a price at any time: ask for a written quote.

Poznań's MSWiA hospital is a public hospital that also sells services to paying patients; its list is dated 1 January 2026. Private clinics in Warsaw publish similar or higher prices. Polish eye clinics charge a separate qualification visit before cataract surgery.

Compared with waiting or paying at home

The official waiting figure and the self-pay price in each home country, next to the Poland price converted to that currency. The Poland figure does not include flights, a hotel or time off work.

Waiting times and self-pay prices at home for heart bypass surgery
Where you liveOfficial waitPay at homeHere, converted
UKJust over 100 daysUK, all NHS heart surgery units, April to September 2025, published June 2026£28,510No comparable pricebefore flights and hotel
CanadaMedian 8.7 days; 1 in 10 waited over 84 daysCanada (national), 2025Not verifiedNo comparable pricebefore flights and hotel
IrelandAbout 45% waiting over 6 months (all cardio-thoracic surgery)Ireland (public hospitals), 24 September 2026Not verifiedNo comparable pricebefore flights and hotel
USNo national figureNot verifiedNo comparable pricebefore flights and hotel

Waits are the latest official statistics; each country measures them differently, so read the label. Home prices are published self-pay prices; for the US they are 2021 hospital medians or a dental school's estimate.

Compare with your wait and price at home

Pick where you live to see the Poland price and how soon hospitals say they can see you, next to your wait and your price at home.

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How it works for a visitor

  1. Ask for a written quoteSend the clinic your referral or reason for the heart bypass surgery and ask for an itemised price, the date, and what happens if the result needs follow-up.
  2. Before you goSend your angiogram images and report, echocardiogram, blood tests and medicine list; ask the hospital to confirm in writing that a cardiac surgeon has reviewed them and agrees to operate.
  3. Before you goGet a written quote that names what is and is not included, and ask what the deposit and refund rules are if the surgeon decides not to operate.
  4. Before you goCheck that your travel insurance covers a planned operation abroad; most standard policies do not.
  5. Before you goTake a companion: you will not be able to carry bags or look after yourself for the first weeks.
  6. LanguagePolish; private clinics in big cities often have English-speaking staff, public hospitals less often.
  7. Entry rulesCheck the official advice for your passport before booking: UK citizens (FCDO entry requirements), Canadian citizens (travel.gc.ca), US citizens (State Department, choose the country), Irish citizens (DFA travel advice, choose the country).
  8. After you returnAsk your doctor at home before you leave who will see you afterwards, and bring the full operation notes and discharge letter in English.
  9. After you returnCardiac rehabilitation at home is usually arranged through your own doctor; ask about it early.
  10. After you returnFever, a wound that is red or leaking, breathlessness or chest pain after you return need urgent care.

Can your public system pay for it?

From England (NHS): the S2 route can fund planned treatment in an EU country, but only state healthcare with a public provider, never private treatment, and only with approval before you go. NHS England must also confirm it cannot treat you in a medically acceptable time. The private clinics on this page do not qualify. NHS: the S2 funding route.

From Ireland (HSE): Poland is one of the EU countries listed for the Cross Border Directive scheme. You pay the provider yourself and then claim back the smaller of what you paid and what the same care would cost in the Irish public system; travel and hotels are not covered, and you need a referral from a GP or a consultant you saw as a public patient. HSE: Cross Border Directive, how much you can claim.

When not to travel for heart bypass surgery

  • Chest pain at rest, pain that is getting worse, or a heart attack: that is an emergency at home, not a trip.
  • Anyone whose own cardiologist says they are not fit to fly before surgery.
  • Anyone who cannot stay near the hospital until the surgeon and the airline agree they can fly home.

How to compare heart bypass surgery quotes

Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is open-heart surgery that takes a blood vessel from the chest, leg or arm and connects it around a narrowed coronary artery, so blood reaches the heart muscle again. It is planned when several arteries are narrowed or a stent is not suitable. Most people spend about a week in hospital, including a day or two in intensive care.

  • Check what the package covers: the number of grafts, intensive-care days, ward nights, the surgeon and anaesthetist fees, and what happens if you need extra days.
  • Ask whether the price assumes an ordinary (on-pump) operation or a minimally invasive one, and what changes if the surgeon decides differently on the day.
  • Ask how many bypass operations the team does a year and who looks after you if there is a complication after you fly home.
  • Ask for the date in writing: how soon after your records arrive they can assess you, and how soon after that they can operate.

Providers on this page

We list providers because they publish a price, not because we recommend them. No clinic pays to be listed, and we have not visited any of them.

Related comparisons

Heart bypass surgery in Poland: questions

How much does heart bypass surgery cost in Poland?

John Paul II Hospital, Kraków (public) publishes only bundles that include other tests, so there is no price for heart bypass surgery on its own that compares with other countries.

Is heart bypass surgery in Poland cheaper than paying privately in the UK?

We do not have both a UK price and a comparable Poland price for this, so we cannot say. Compare the published prices on this page with a written quote from a UK provider.

Will the NHS or HSE pay for heart bypass surgery in Poland?

The NHS S2 route pays only for state treatment at a public provider in the EU, with approval before you travel, not for private clinics. From Ireland, the HSE Cross Border Directive scheme lets you claim back up to what the same care costs in the Irish public system, after you have paid.

How many days should I plan in Poland?

Usually 1 to 2 weeks in hospital and nearby, then until the surgeon clears you to fly. That is our planning estimate, not medical advice: the clinic sets the schedule, and you should ask it for one in writing.

What should I check before booking heart bypass surgery in Poland?

Check what the package covers: the number of grafts, intensive-care days, ward nights, the surgeon and anaesthetist fees, and what happens if you need extra days. Ask whether the price assumes an ordinary (on-pump) operation or a minimally invasive one, and what changes if the surgeon decides differently on the day.

Sources

  1. Aneks nr 545: cennik Oddziału Chirurgii Serca, Naczyń i Transplantologii [cardiac surgery price list]. Krakowski Szpital Specjalistyczny im. św. Jana Pawła II, 1 January 2024. Read 27 October 2026.
  2. Planned treatment: S2 funding route. NHS (nhs.uk). Read 26 October 2026.
  3. Cross Border Directive: how to get healthcare abroad. Health Service Executive (HSE). Read 26 October 2026.
  4. Cross Border Directive: DRG codes and how much you can claim. Health Service Executive (HSE). Read 26 October 2026.
  5. Cennik usług medycznych obowiązujący od 1.01.2026 (price list valid from 1 January 2026). Szpital MSWiA w Poznaniu (Ministry of Interior hospital, Poznań), 1 January 2026. Read 26 October 2026.
  6. Euro foreign exchange reference rates. European Central Bank, 23 October 2026. Read 26 October 2026.