WARSAW (Reuters Life!) - A weaker currency is helping to lure more foreigners to Poland's cosmetic surgery clinics in search of affordable breast implants, tummy tucks and facelifts.

Cosmetic surgery clinics in the European Union's biggest ex-communist member state have benefited from falls of as much as 30 percent in the value of the Polish zloty since last summer as the global financial crisis buffets eastern Europe.

Though the Polish currency has clawed back some ground since touching an all-time low of nearly 5 zlotys to the euro in February, prices in Poland remain attractive for foreigners. The zloty traded at 4.1 to the euro on Wednesday 5 August.

"This year I had my breasts enlarged and maybe I wouldn't have done it at all, but when you think of the prices -- this has cost me 2,500 zlotys ($880) here and back at home, in the Netherlands, I would have to pay 5,000 euro ($7,195)," said one customer who declined to be named.

The clinic, located in central Warsaw, is run by cosmetic surgeon Andrzej Sankowski.

"We have a strong reputation abroad. Satisfied clients spread the word about us," Sankowski told Reuters. "We have had foreign visitors for years but the weak zloty has proved an additional incentive."

Another customer, who gave her name as Maria, came to Poland from Switzerland to have her abdomen treated.

"Having given birth to two boys, my belly just didn't look that good anymore, the skin was very stretched," she said.

"I guess I would have done it anyway, but with this exchange rate I could afford some nice extras for the same amount of Swiss francs I had prepared for this," she added.

CHEAPER THAN BERLIN

"We've been hearing about a growing number of foreign clients coming for example from Germany, mostly to clinics in western parts of Poland, in Szczecin for example," said Poland's national plastic surgery consultant, Andrzej Zielinski.

Poland has no official data on plastic surgery because the authorities monitor only the public healthcare system, Zielinski told Reuters.

But Artplastica, a clinic based in Szczecin -- a city of 400,000 people near Poland's western border with Germany -- has attracted numerous foreigners.

"Many foreign visitors choose to come to Poland as the clinics offer high-standard service for competitive prices. We have seen strong demand from both English- and German-speaking countries," said Magdalena Kwiecien of Artplastica.

"If you compare it to the prices from earlier in the year, when the zloty was even weaker, the prices for foreign clients have inched up a bit. But it is still much cheaper than in London or Berlin," Kwiecien added.

Other east European countries have also been trying to carve out a niche in the international plastic surgery market. For example, Hungary plans a beauty contest in October featuring only women who have received cosmetic surgery.

By Gabriela Baczynska