Always focused and listening to the words spoken by the patient. Doctor Michał Michalik has a lot of empathy for everyone. He understands that even minor ailments can significantly hinder life.

Military Medical Academy in Łódź, a university that no longer exists,Dr. Michał Michalikchose it because it enjoyed a very good reputation. Family traditions were also important, because both Michał Michalik's grandfather and father were soldiers.

- The army has taught me discipline, both professional and private - he says. - You were given a task and it had to be done. I have always liked it very much, because setting yourself specific goals for each day, month or year brings order to your life. Such a life is systematized, it shortens unnecessary discussions that maybe we will do something differently, or maybe we will not do something. There are many doctors in my clinic who graduated from the same university. They chose me and I chose them. We understand each other without words, we think in a similar way, which definitely facilitates the work.

Only ENT

From the first days of his studies, Dr. Michalik knew that his specialization would be laryngology. - I never wanted to be a doctor of all kinds - he says. - I chose a specific specialization and I perfect my skills in this direction because, as the saying goes: if something is for everything, it is for nothing. My coworkers think similarly. With us, everything revolves around the head and neck, but we know that the human body must always be treated holistically and we remember about the interconnection and interaction of all its parts. Well, you have to be the best in something …

When a doctor goes to war

Dr. Michalik is also a specialist in aviation medicine, which he did at the Military Institute of Aviation Medicine. Currently, this specialization does not exist, but an attempt is made to rebuild it. This is a unique field, because it gives knowledge about what can happen in the body during overloads related to all types of flights, when blood oxygen saturation drops, when the pressure affecting the body changes rapidly, which changes with sudden decompression, which heights. Dr. Michalik regrets that the Military Medical Academy in Lodz was dissolved. - There were trained soldiers-soldiers who knew both professions well. Today onmissions are going to doctors not always well prepared for what they encounter on the spot, because they do not learn it at civil universities.

Wooden spoon for snoring

Michał Michalik was one of the first specialists to start treating snoring in Poland. - I became interested in this topic and after training in various institutions around the world I decided that the treatment of snoring should be started at a very early stage - he explains. - This is the only way to prevent snoring complications, including the most dangerous one, i.e. obstructive sleep apnea. But it is not easy to convince even doctors that this is an important problem. More than once I have heard that it is enough to put a mask on the patient and … after the problem. Currently, the situation has changed a bit, but we still receive patients who slept with a wooden spoon between their teeth. There are also ideas to sleep with plastic tubes in the nose, because it is supposed to facilitate breathing. It blows the Middle Ages. That is why we try to inform you about the methods of snoring treatment. We also run courses for doctors, but not all of them are interested in being educated. And yet on January 1 this year, an EU directive entered into force, which requires Member States to test all candidates for drivers (including amateurs), whether they do not suffer from sleep apnea. Why? Because drivers with apnea are more likely than others to be responsible for road accidents.

Dream about your own clinic

The MML clinic exists for 12 years, has 9 diagnostic and treatment rooms and a hospital ward with 11 beds and 2 operating rooms. - I am not suitable for a businessman - says Dr. Michalik. - I don't have the head for this. It would certainly be more convenient to stay in the hospital. When I was still working on the so-called I've always had a lot of patients. They kept coming back to me, but I couldn't see them in the hospital. I also didn't want to leave them unattended since they trusted me. I also missed new challenges. Besides, the hospital was getting too tight for my ideas - new treatments, new therapies. It was very frustrating. And so I opened the first office. There were more and more patients, so a second one was created. Finally, it was necessary to think about creating a real ENT clinic. The road "to my own" was not always full of roses. Like in life: once downhill, once uphill. - I have worked hard all my professional life - says the doctor. - I did everything myself, but the more satisfaction I have.

I like difficult challenges

The clinic's patients are many athletes who have suffered nose, ear or jaw injuries. - We help boxers, karate fighters, judokas - explains Dr. Michalik. - It is an extremely grateful group of patients. They know without our interventionthey would have to end their sports career. We are also visited by people who work with their voice and have various problems with the throat and vocal cords. One of the famous actors who frequently lends voice to dubbing was rejected by W alt Disney studio. He was even accused of being someone else and pretending to be a famous actor. Fortunately, we managed to restore his voice to its original sound. Dr. Michalik proves that modern laryngology is not only pharmacological and surgical treatment of head and neck diseases. It happens that, for example, digestive problems can translate into problems with the throat or vocal cords. Therefore, it is necessary to combine many facts, e.g. the issues of gastrointestinal microbiology, immunology, allergology with ailments in the throat, sinuses or ears. Michalika, head and neck surgery is a unique challenge for the doctor. In laryngology, even a millimeter shift of the scalpel may result in irreversible damage to the body. After all, within the head and neck are the senses of smell, taste, balance and sight, without which it is difficult to live. In addition, the respiratory and digestive tracts cross here. One thing affects the other, which we are not always aware of.

According to an expertDr. Michał Michalik, MD, specialist in otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, MML Medical Center

About myselfIn my childhood I wanted to be…I had many ideas. At the beginning I wanted to be a driver of a watering can which I could drive on the streets of Warsaw.My three favorite books are…I am still raving about "Breakfast at Tiffany's" by Truman Capote. I love "Squadron 303" by Arkady Fiedler and … "Plastusiak diary" by Maria Kownacka, which I knew by heart.I first thought about medicine as a professional career …I think at the end of high school. Until the fourth grade of high school, I was a strong opponent. I put my hair on sugar, listened to punk rock, wore torn pants … But it wasn't the happiest time in my life. I did a lot of stupid things that only my mom can talk about today.My mentors, guides during my studies and during the first years of my work were …The person I remember with the greatest attention is professor Janusz Kubiczkowa, with whom I did the 1st and 2nd degree of specialization in otolaryngology.The most important thing for the doctor is…Take the patient's side. Listen to him, feel his emotions. It is difficult, but necessary for the treatment effect to be the best.A good doctor should…Have imagination so as not to function in schematic roles. Don't think it ends heremedicine and there is nothing I can do. Or set age limits when undertaking some therapy. You also have to fight the myths that still apply in medicine.After work, most willingly …I think about pleasant things. I like to spend time with my wife, daughter and our bitch Saba, who is a Manchester Terrier. I like to meet colleagues who are not related to medicine, with whom - over a large steak - we talk about life.In life I try to be …Honest with the people around me. I don't tolerate at work …People who aren't inventive pretend to work and are lazy.If I didn't become a doctor, I would be …An Ichthyologist. I was even going to study in Olsztyn, but then I thought it was too far. I've always been interested in the underwater world. I even started to prepare for it by doing sailing patents of various classes. I love water and boating on the Vistula.I am happy when …I am surrounded by happy people. I like to be with people who are cheerful, optimistic about the world, who do not divide their hair into four. The more laughter and kindness in life, the more you can achieve.

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