Features

Paulo Malo

4 Mar 2009

One of the world’s leading dental surgeons, Portugal-based Dr Paulo Malo is to open a Malo Clinic and Malo Clinic Spa at The Venetian Macao in the middle of 2009. He believes this will be the first true medical spa in the region, offering traditional spa treatments on the one hand and world-class dental and general surgery on the other. Malo has built his international reputation particularly in the specialist field of dental implantology but has taken his healthcare concepts into other arenas. In little more than 15 years, he has taken his medical skills and management expertise from running a single facility in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon to a global network of more than a dozen clinics operating across five continents. Malo is a man of many parts – sportsman, former male model, dentist and entrepreneur. He spoke to Kenny Coyle on a recent trip to Hongkong.

What were your early influences?

My early life was spent in southern Africa. I was born and brought up in Angola (then a Portuguese colony) and then moved to South Africa. Later, I went to Portugal to attend university.

When I was younger, I played rugby at a very high level, and I was also one of South Africa’s highest paid male models. So I’ve been fascinated all my life with the ideals of wellness and beauty.

How did you settle on a dental career?

I originally studied to be a doctor, but I decided that dentistry was my true vocation. I graduated from Lisbon University as a dental surgeon in 1989. About six years later, I founded my own clinic in Lisbon. Today, that clinic covers 60,000sqm and employs around 400 staff, who handle almost 7,000 appointments per month. There are over a dozen clinics in my network, in parts of Europe, the US, South America and North and South Africa.

How much do you travel?

To run the Malo Clinic group effectively, I have to travel very extensively. I fly internationally several times a week, both short and long haul. Apart from visiting my own clinics, I also lecture and speak at many international conferences and specialist meetings all over the world.

I use TAP (Portugal’s flag carrier) and Lufthansa because of the international connections. I always fly First or Business Class. I use the time onboard to continue working. I write pages and pages of notes, jotting down ideas and so on.

When choosing a hotel, I like to know that it has a good fitness centre. However, I rarely get the chance to go sightseeing on my trips. I’m far too busy working.

What about your new project in Macau?

We’re going to be opening an absolutely unique facility in Asia. The Malo clinic and medical spa will be located on the fifth floor of The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel on the Cotai Strip.

It will have six operating theatres, 58 spa rooms and wet and hydrotherapy facilities. Our Macau clinic will offer a wide range of medical services, including general surgery and cosmetic surgery and there will be diagnostic facilities too. This means you can have health checks with the latest technology. We will also have highly skilled and selected staff, eventually totalling around 50 doctors and 100 spa therapists.

By bringing together medical expertise and spa treatments, we can honestly claim to be a medical spa, when others use the term without having these facilities
or specialists.

Please tell us, why did you choose Macau?

It was a natural choice for our expansion into Asia. Macau is becoming a major centre for conventions and business events as well as for gaming. We will offer world-class medical services under one roof that visitors won’t find anywhere else.

Kenny Coyle
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