Salt Air Treatments

There is a company called SolVita offering salt air treatments in Sarajevo.
Their webpage is http://www.solvita.ba, address is Buka 6.
They also offer 20min treatments for kids (10KM, adult is free).
Kasey V. says: "I have gone there several times with my son. I think it is a wonderful place! Especially for children who have allergies. The room is beautiful and has lots of toys for the children. We were looking for a place like this for over a year and I thought I would have to travel to Slovenia or Germany to find one. It is really progressive that Sarajevo has a place like this and I think the quality is high."

Hypnotherapy

I am a medical doctor and consultant grade psychiatrist and would like to offer my services as a hypnotherapist. This is ideal for smoking cessation, problem eating, bad habits (e.g. nail biting), anxiety disorders including phobias, pain, asthma, stress, skin problems, sleep problems, tinnitus, irritable bowel, problem drinking, pain and anxiety associated with childbirth, low mood and various childhood disorders.

I am well qualified to offer such services; I studied medicine at Oxford University and trained in psychiatry at the world famous Maudsley and Institute of Psychiatry. I have worked as a consultant psychiatrist in the UK and have experience in psychological therapies for a range of disorders. In addition I have an MA and MSc and have published several academic papers. I have a medical diploma in clinical hypnosis from the London College of Clinical Hypnosis.

Please contact me on rebecca_syed@hotmail.com

(Ad by Rebecca Syed, currently living in Sarajevo)

List of Private Clinics with Pediatric Departments

This list is probably incomplete. Please help to make it longer.

Eurofarm centar
Poliklinika Ilidža
Butmirska Cesta 14
Sarajevo
+387 33 773 032
(The one in UNITIC has just a lab)
http://www.eurofarmcentar.ba


Poliklinika Bosanes (Surgical clinic)
Sutjeska 1
Sarajevo
+387 33 206 256
http://www.bosanes.com

Poliklinika Dr.Gežo
(Clinic specialises in Ear, nose and throat)
Mustafe Kamerića 10
Dobrinja Sarajevo
033 450 102
http://www.drgezo.ba

List of gynacologists in Sarajevo

This list is obviously incomplete. Please provide further information.

Dr. Haverić Faruk
Kosevo Hospital 062-228-008
Speaks English, worked in the US for 10 years
(Recommended by Amra Kurtovic, 061-929419)

List of pediatricians in Sarajevo

This list was compiled from personal recommendations of BabyGroup members
and several pediatrician lists published by the international community. Please
note that doctors may speak languages additional to the ones listed below.
Doctors recommended personally by our members are at the beginning of the
list.

Dr Evelina Čehajić
Specialist Pediatrician
General Pediatrics

http://pedijatrija-suncokret.ba/

Prof. Dr. Mira Ademović
033-617-109
Grbavička 84
“I`m very satisfied with Dr. Ademović. She is about 60 years old. She has a very
modern office and you don’t have to wait a long time. She can also come to your
home.” (Renata Maierl)

Dr. Mersija Dervisević
033-639-699 or 061-194-855
Speaks German
“I interviewed several pediatricians who came to my home knowing all the
answers. Dr. Dervisević was the only one who spent time (a lot) asking me
questions and who really seemed to want to get to know my child. She's been a
great pediatrician for us.” (Kasey Vannett)

Dr. Aida Rudić
033-219-788 or 061-483-181
Speaks English, French and German.
Although not actually a pediatrician she specializes and lectures in family health. Does house calls only.
“Good at diagnosis but a bit negligent in giving medicines or recommending further treatment. Hard to contact, usually only in the afternoon. Works as instructor for nurses during the day." (Clemens Zvacek)

Dr. Fatima Bajramović
033-520-521, 523-201
Envera Šehovića 14/I
Working hours: 13:00 – 19:00 (weekdays); 13:00 – 17:00 (Saturdays)
Speaks English
see also: http://babygroupsarajevo.blogspot.com/2010/02/opinion-on-dr-fatima-bajramovic.html


Dr. Esma Čemerlić-Zečević
033-472-406
Clinical Center – University of Sarajevo (Koševo Hospital) – Pediatric Clinic
Bolnička 25


Dr. Ismet Gavrankapetanović
033-664-479
Pediatric-Orthopedic Inpatient Clinic – Koševo Hospital
Bolnička 25
Speaks English


Dr. Amra Junuzović
033-278-608, 061-194888
Dom Zdravlja Stari Grad
Alajbegovića 1
Working hours: 8:00 – 19:00
She is Director of Pediatric Department in the old town public clinic
Speaks English


Dr. Lupi and Dr. Purišić
State Hospital
Kranjčevićeva 12
033-285-100, 033-285-287 (home)

Gynecological/Maternity Hospital in Belgrade

Ana Boltic (062 321 730) describes the hospital and her experience:
GAK "Narodni front", Kraljice Natalije 62, Belgrade is the biggest gynecology and maternity hospital in Belgrade. The maternity department has 6 rooms with 2 beds and 2 rooms with 1 bed. You need to reserve a room since the department is very busy. You can receive visitors all day (husbands, parents or friends). One day for me cost 50 euros and I was there for 3 days. However, foreigners may have to pay over 2000 euros since they do not have a local medical insurance. I had a two-bed room, with air-conditioning, a bathroom, TV and phone. For further information: Tel + 381 11 2068 272, www.gakfront.org (only in Serbian), e-mail for patients questions - pitanja@gakfront.org.

Gynecological/Maternity Hospital in Skopje

The Mala Bogorodica private hospital in Skopje, or the ‘Sistina Hospital’ as it is known, specialized in gynecology and obstretics. In the online magazine www.expatexchange.com a woman who gave birth there in 2002 described her experience thus: “Excellent experience ….. Had a private room (like a suite) with round the clock attention from doctors. Had all types of pain management available and had planned an epidural but got to the hospital too late and delivered naturally. Hospital stay was four days. Lots of attention from doctors on how to take care of baby and breastfeeding. Not as much attention to my hemorrhoids!!!“

The hospital has an outpatient and polyclinic department, a cytogenetic, biochemical and histopathology-cytology laboratory, a department for human reproduction and embryology, maternity wards, neonatology, operating rooms and a general ward.

The prenatal diagnostics includes the most up-to-date methods of cytogenetic screening (amniocentesis, chorion biopsy, cordocentesis, placentocentesis, triple test) allowing for the early detection of possible genetic abnormalities. The support of Ultrasound Doppler devices allows for the diagnosis and analysis of the fetal placental circulation as well fetal growth and development. The full range of gynecological screening methods are offered (colposcopy, PAP test, biopsy, HPV type classification, US and colour Doppler). All test results are issued to the patients within the shortest possible period. The department of human reproduction offers infertility treatment (IUI, IVF, ICSI, Blastocyst Transfer).

Mala Bogorodica Hospital, Londonska 19, 1000 Skopje

Located on the second floor of the Olimpico shopping centre

Tel +389-2-307 33 35, fax +389 2 307 33 98

E-mail: medical@mbogorodica.com.mk

www.malabogorodica.com.mk

(contributor: Anne Burke)

Personal experience: Ilidza/Jezero/Kosevo hospitals

LOCAL HOSPITALS (Ilidza, Jezero Children's Hospital)
First I want to tell you, that we are in the Bosnian health system, so we can not go to every doctor we would like to. We have to go where we are sent .

Our responsible hospital (for Alina) is in ilidza. The doctors and nurses are kind and work quite professionally. Only problem is that the injections are all separate (18), in germany we get 6 injections in 1 (hepatitis, mums, …). Only 1 doctor (he seems to be from india) is unkind and 1 time I really wanted to make a problem, because he told alina, that she shouldn't cry.

If these doctors are not sure, they send us to the jezero-hospital near kosevo, the special children-hospital. There we had been 1 night, because alina vomitted 10 times. After 2 hours waiting, they sent us home. Another boy, he “only” vomited twice, got an infusion, because he was the son of the vice-president. On the way home Alina got sick again and we drove to the hitna-pomoc (first aid) in grbavica. They told us Alina needed an infusion and that we would have to go to jezero-hospital. I told them, that we were coming from there. Alina was dehydrated and they gave her (normally forbidden) the infusion. The next day we had to go again to kosevo-children-chirugie. They inserted a catheter into her bottom to help in clearing her intestines, then sent us back to the jezero-hospital, but with my private car, Alina was on her back in her mother’s arms. They wanted to open her stomach to look for the problem. But the chief of the doctors decided not to open her.

After 1 night in the chirugie (no bed for the mother, only a chair) we had to go to the other department for infection. There they wanted to take alina for 3 days for observation because the results were going to take that long. I saw that my little one was in so much fear, that I decided to take her home on my own responsibility. The next day we went from 1 to the other hospital for checking. Alina got herself better and we hope, that this situations will never come again. (Submitted by Volkmar Koch)

Opinion on: Dr Fatima Bajramovic

I have used her on two occasions for my son Max, for a wellness health check up when he was 3 months old and for a cold/cough when he was 1 yr old. On the first occasion, the doctor took too long to examine him, talked to much and did too little. I was still breastfeeding him and after ONE WHOLE HOUR of her talking, I had to ask if we can be finished, as I had to go home and breastfeed my son before his nap. There were absolutely no issues with anything that time, I just wanted to check his weight, height and normal health signs. On the cold/cough occasion, I felt she was exaggerating the situation. My conclusion: the lady wastes your time a lot. Go find yourself another doctor. I WOULD recommend Mira Abramovic in Grbavica. She nice and thorough and efficient. She doesn't over-medicate and she doesn't exaggerate. I feel comfortable with her opinion. (For reference, I have used Dr. Lutvo Hodzic, Dr. Aida Rudic as well for the last 6 years). (submitted by Anna Ashford)

Personal experience: Kosevo hospital

When Frederikke’s temperature hit 40 at noon, I finally gave up hoping for the best and took her to the doctor in Grbavica. The doctor told me that Frederikke had to have a blood test and that we were to go to the Infective Diseases department at Kosevo. My spirits sank: that single sentence contained all that I dread most about living in Bosnia.

Aside from an elderly man, slumped in a corner, no one was waiting and we were ushered in. A rather stern looking doctor examined her, scratching the intermittent spots on Frederikke’s body. He called in a second doctor, a jolly woman doctor who spoke perfect English. She told me - in a nice way - Frederikke and I would need to stay at the hospital, Frederikke needed a blood test to identify what was causing the fever, but what worried them most, were the spots: they needed to keep Frederikke under observation to see how they would develop. Although it didn’t look like it now, there was a remote chance they were ‘menincoques’ which could lead to meningitis.

In a trance I followed the doctor to the second floor, down a hall with shiny floors, to a large, empty room: three beds and one baby bed, not wood of course. The linen looked worn but relatively clean. The window was open and there was a view of grass and trees. The bathroom looked suspicious and dilapidated, particular the toilet, and there was hair in the shower. No soap but I was given a roll of pink toilet paper.

Two nurses entered, one carrying a metal tray with amongst other things two packaged syringes. I pointed to the tray and asked: cisto? to which the annoyed nurse replied what I took to mean: of course, do you want to open the package yourself? I watched as she searched for a vein and pushed the needle in, Frederikke was bawling. She taped the needle summarily, told me to “watch it” (the needle) and walked out, clearly offended. I looked at the contraption in Frederikke’s little arm and cried.

It took an hour for the blood test results to arrive: as the friendly doctor (Lukovac?) explained, Frederikke’s white blood cells were sky-rocketing (27 per unit, whereas 10-14 is normal). She had a serious bacterial infection centering on her throat and she would be getting antibiotics, administered intravenously. A blood prick in her finger had revealed she was slightly dehydrated, so she would be getting an infusion and of course, some anti-fever medicine, administered orally.

Word had apparently gotten round among the nurses, because an unfriendly, unhealthy looking nurse came in, ordering me to “put her down”. As I stared at her uncomprehendingly, she asked me roughly why the baby wasn’t lying in her cot. I exploded: because she needs to be with her mother. She looked at me, told me in a softer tone to lie the baby down. I held Frederikke as the nurse administered the antibiotics through the previously inserted needle. Doing so, I had a close up view of the nurse’s long, yellowish nail, like a French manicure gone bad, 2 centimeters away from the inserted needle. That nail haunts me.

The nurse warmed up to me from then on: in a conciliatory gesture, she brought me coffee and a piece of cake. An hour later, she brought me a plastic cup of fanta, while holding a cigarette in the other hand: our room, situated at the end of the hall, was closest to the open window where patients, and apparently also nurses, came to have a smoke. I must admit that, in the night when Frederikke was sleeping peacefully and all was quiet, I had a cigarette there too.

The friendly doctor came in two more times, at regular intervals to check on Frederikke. I propped the baby bed against my bed so that she could sleep in the curve of my arm without falling. We woke at six the following morning when the nurse asked me to take Frederikke’s temperature.

In total we stayed 48 hours in the hospital. The urgency had receded by the first morning – no more fever and the spots were stable – but the doctor – a different one but just as nice – gently advised for Frederikke to stay under observation until her white blood cells count fell. For me the worst had already happened so I stayed that extra night. Overall, I liked the doctors who were accessible and friendly. They seemed competent, even if I’m no wiser today about the bacteria, what it was and where it came from. The quality of nurses improved over time and the performance of the cleaning personnel varied. I didn’t take a shower though. The food was surprisingly fresh and rather good.

There were humorous moments, like when the department head came for her morning round, accompanied by all of the personnel. There were moments of kafkaesque bureaucracy: Merima, who cares for our children, spent some three hours, navigating between the Blagajna (where you pay) and the VIP service, trying to obtain documents and stamps, which recognized the van Breda insurance. Johannes had to duck the man at the entrance to be able to visit me as it was outside of the regular hours.

It’s the variation in professional standards that is nerve-wrecking: sometimes it’s a good doctor/nurse, sometimes it’s a good cleaner. It’s the fact that you are not in control – all you can do is to be vigilant when they stick a needle in your baby. It’s the fact that communication is difficult. To some degree, apart from the last issue, I face the same problems in a hospital in Brussels – I just have more trust in the system. Overall, it was a nerve-wrecking experience but at the moment, with my baby healthy and smiling, it doesn’t look like I have that much to complain about. I guess, if I absolutely had to, I would do it again. But I hope –with some fervor – I won’t have to.
(submitted by Catharina de Lange Viereck)