It is a fair question — and an uncomfortable one. Nobody likes spending money on something that might also be done another way. So we answer it openly: what you get in the public system, what you get with us, and why the difference matters so much around the eyelids in particular.
The Kuzbari Centre is a private hospital licensed by the Vienna provincial government. Coverage by statutory health insurance is not provided for with us. We would rather tell you that in the first paragraph than in the small print — and we expressly do not raise hopes we cannot fulfil.
That still does not answer the real question, though. Because the question is not “cheap or expensive”, but: what do I get for the difference? That is what this page is about.
And one more thing in advance: we have great respect for the medicine practised in public hospitals. The work there is done under enormous pressure, and when things get medically serious, the public system is the best thing that can happen to us. It is just that an eyelid lift is rarely a medical emergency. It is usually a decision about your own appearance — and different standards apply to that.
At the Kuzbari Centre only specialists focused on eyelid surgery operate. You choose your preferred doctor — and are advised, operated on and cared for afterwards by the same person.
A specialist in natural, fresh results — without looking “operated on”. His focus lies on the precise correction of the upper and lower eyelid.
Combines surgical precision with a fine feel for aesthetics — for alert, harmonious eyes that keep their character.
Innovative, precise and full of dedication. Combines international training and experience into an individually tailored treatment concept.
Not the quality of the medicine — but the conditions under which it takes place. And with an aesthetic procedure those matter more than you might think.
| Public hospital medically indicated procedures | Kuzbari Centre private, specialised in aesthetics | |
|---|---|---|
| Who operates | The doctor on duty on the day of the operation. The person you met in the outpatient clinic and the person who ends up at the operating table are not necessarily the same. | You choose for yourself: Dr Christoph Grill, DDr. Jessica Wittmann or Dr Shawqi Arafat — all three specialised in eyelid surgery. Whoever advises you also operates on you and sees you again at every check-up. |
| Time for the planning | Outpatient appointments are tightly scheduled. In routine operation there is little room for fine-tuning an aesthetic result. | A thorough first consultation with a photo analysis, a look at photos of you as a young adult and an individual plan — before anything at all is decided. |
| What is optimised for | For the medical indication. With drooping upper eyelids that means restoring the field of vision. That is the stated goal — and it is reliably achieved. | For the appearance. The field of vision and the expression, symmetry, the lid crease, the course of the scar. We do not stop until the aesthetic side is right too. |
| Who is lying next to you | A hospital cares for people who are ill. Multi-bed rooms are the rule, and the daily routine on the ward is dictated by the most urgent cases — quite rightly so. | With us there are only people who have chosen a planned procedure. Single and twin rooms, a quiet atmosphere, no emergencies in the next bed. |
| The appointment | Waiting times of several months to over a year are usual for elective procedures. Postponements are possible if something more urgent comes up. | Your appointment is fixed as soon as you want it — and it holds. We plan so that you can rely on it. |
| The aftercare | Check-ups run through the outpatient clinic, often with changing doctors. | Every follow-up appointment until the final result with your own surgeon, with a direct line if you have questions. Suture removal and scar advice included. |
| Discretion | Shared waiting areas, ward routine, visiting hours. | Our own rooms in the Golden Quarter, discreet entrances, no waiting halls. What you have done is nobody else's business. |
| The costs | With a recognised medical indication, health insurance covers the procedure. The aesthetic standard is not part of what is provided. | A private service, from €2,600 all-inclusive. Every appointment before, during and after the operation is included — no extra costs. |
We are not writing this to talk down the public system. We are writing it so that you can make a decision with your eyes open — and know what the difference stands for.
Book a consultation appointmentAn eyelid lift is a small procedure. It takes under an hour, runs under local anaesthetic, and you go home the same day. That is exactly what misleads people — because small does not mean simple here.
The eye area is the region people look at first. It decides whether someone seems alert or tired, friendly or stern, open or closed. And the skin there is thinner than anywhere else in the face.
Remove a millimetre too little and nothing changes. Remove a millimetre too much and the lid no longer closes properly, the gaze looks fixed, and in the worst case it cannot be undone. Between a result nobody notices and one everybody notices lie a few millimetres of skin.
That is why the decisive question is not whether someone has mastered an eyelid lift technically — many have. It is how often they do it, how much time they take over the planning and what they measure their result against.
We carry out most eyelid procedures on an outpatient basis — you go home the same day. If you would like to stay, or if the procedure is more extensive, a single or twin room with its own bathroom, daylight and quiet awaits you.
The difference is not only comfort. In a hospital you share the daily routine with people who are ill — with everything that involves: ward rounds at all hours, monitors, disturbance at night. With us there are only people who, like you, have chosen a planned procedure. That makes the day quieter, and it makes it shorter.
Then there is what is hard to put on a list: that someone asks whether you would like a coffee. That you hear your name and not your bed number.
That sounds self-evident, but it is not. In the routine operation of a large hospital, whoever is scheduled on the day of the operation operates. That is understandable organisationally and unproblematic medically — with an aesthetic procedure it is nevertheless a disadvantage.
Because what was discussed in the consultation is to a good extent in the head of the person who gave that consultation: how strongly the lid crease should be emphasised. Where the asymmetry lies that you never noticed yourself. What you meant by “fresh, but not changed”.
With us the same person carries out the first consultation, the operation and every check-up. You know in advance who it is — and you can choose your preferred doctor.
Everything included
With many providers the extra costs only start after the operation. Not with us — what we quote at the first appointment is the amount you pay.
„You can tell a good result by the fact that nobody asks what you have had done — but why you look so rested.“
If drooping upper eyelids really do restrict your field of vision so much that you are impaired in everyday life, that is a medical problem — and for that there is a route in the public system that costs you nothing. If you would like to take that route, it is a sensible decision, and we will not advise you against it.
The difference lies in the goal. There it is about you being able to see well again. With us it is additionally about how you look afterwards. If the second matters to you as much as the first, you are in the right place with us. If not, we will tell you so openly in the consultation — that too is part of honest advice.
The specialists at the Kuzbari Centre have been honoured with the DocFinder Patients' Choice Award eleven times in a row.
No. We are a private hospital and coverage by statutory health insurance is not provided for with us. We will of course issue you with a detailed invoice.
That depends entirely on your contract. Purely aesthetic procedures are as a rule excluded. It is best to ask your insurer directly before you rely on it.
Upper and lower eyelid lifts each cost from €2,600, as does the brow lift. The price is all-inclusive and covers every appointment before, during and after the operation. You will find all the items on our prices page.
Yes. You choose your preferred doctor and are advised, operated on and cared for afterwards by the same person. On our doctors' pages we introduce each of them individually.
In most cases no — eyelid surgery is carried out on an outpatient basis and you go home the same day. If you would like to stay, or if the procedure is more extensive, a single or twin room is available to you.
Considerably faster than in the public system. We plan our capacity so that an agreed surgery date holds and is not postponed.
No. The first appointment is without obligation. You decide in your own time whether and when you would like the procedure — there is no pressure with us.
No, and we expressly do not claim that. The difference lies not in the quality of the medicine but in the setting: who operates, how much time there is for the planning and whether the aesthetic result is part of the goal.
You have a direct line to your surgeon. Every follow-up appointment until the final result is included in the price — you do not have to go through an outpatient clinic and tell your story again to someone new.
Yes, payment in instalments is possible. On our prices page you can have the monthly instalment calculated directly.
In the end what counts is what you see in the mirror. Click the magic wand — all cases come from real patients of the Kuzbari Centre.
Book directly in the calendar of the doctor with whom you feel most comfortable.
Specialist in Plastic Surgery · leading expert for eyelid surgery
A specialist in natural, fresh results — without looking “operated on”. His focus lies on the precise correction of the upper and lower eyelid.
Specialist in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery · leading expert for eyelid surgery
Combines surgical precision with a fine feel for aesthetics — for alert, harmonious eyes that keep their character.
Specialist in Plastic Surgery · leading expert for eyelid surgery
Innovative, precise and full of dedication. Combines international training and experience into an individually tailored treatment concept.
At the no-obligation initial consultation our facial surgery specialists go into all your questions and wishes in detail, show you every treatment option and plan your procedure together with you — and we deliberately take plenty of time for that.
Secure your appointment now by phone on +43 1 358 28 77 or through our online appointment booking.
Specialist in Plastic Surgery · leading expert for eyelid surgery
Specialist in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery · leading expert for eyelid surgery
Specialist in Plastic Surgery · leading expert for eyelid surgery
