According to the article below, Lebanon is now competing with Brazil for plastic surgey tourists.
Link to article.

The person featured had a nose job and facelift for $5000 US.

Looking at Lebanese women on the streets these days, you would be forgiven for thinking they were clones. Why? Because cosmetic surgery has become common and is a booming business in the country.

In the past few years Lebanon has earned a reputation as a place for Arab tourists as well as Lebanese expatriates and locals to come to for plastic surgery. The cosmetic enhancements vary from nose jobs to facelifts to body sculpting.

“During the war there were mainly six or seven plastic surgeons in Lebanon, nowadays you can find more than 100 surgeons with well established names,” plastic surgeon Elie Chamas told Deutsche Presse- Agentur (dpa).

“We are now competing with the famous Brazilian plastic surgeons,” he said.

While I doubt AMericans will travel to Lebanon for surgery, it is pretty interesting to see that this is a world trend.

If you can’t afford a Mercedez, don’t buy a car.

This statement seems absurd to me.

But that is what I am hearing when I hear statements like “If you can’t afford plastic surgery in the United States, save your money or don’t do it.”
No - I am not saying plastic surgery in the US is the Mercedes of Plastic Surgery (although some people seem to beleive it is.)

Sure, I agree that people who are using thier life savings to have plastic surgery should consider setting aside some extra cash in case something goes wrong. And financial priorities should be in tact.

But if I can get a quality procedure and equally great care for a fraction of the cost of the US by going to Mexico, then why not? If I can research a plastic surgeon, meet patients, review before and after pics, consult in advance, and verify that the location is at the same level of cleanliness of that of LA plastic surgeons - then why shouldn’t I? Before I chose plastic surgery in Mexico, the alternative to having plastic surgery in the United States was not having plastic surgery at all. Now I know there are options. And I can be empowered with information and make the best decision for me.

With my financial priorities, I can’t afford PS in the US. I had a great experience in Mexico and saved over $12,000. I am glad I did it.

A well known plastic surgeon in Orange County, CA is being investigated for illegally importing Cohesive Silicone Gel Breast Implants from Tijuana, Mexico. These implants are not approved by the FDA and can be obtained in the USA only through clinical trials. Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-me-breasts12apr12,0,1510009.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Silicone implants were taken off the market in 1992 over concerns they might cause autoimmune diseases if they leaked. The ban has spurred a black market for the implants, which some would say are considered more natural in appearance and feel than saline-filled ones approved for use in the nearly 300,000 U.S. women who have cosmetic breast surgery every year. Moreover, many women feel that they are much safer because in case of rupture, they maintain thier shape because of thier “gummy bear - like” feel.

What this article did not mention is the exudus of women who cross the border into TJ every year for breast augmentations for silicone gel implants. Plastic Surgeons in Mexico do not have to wait for the FDA to lift the ban on Cohesive Gel Implants. Mentor and Inamed, the two leading makers of silicone implants, each have demand in countries such as Mexico, Brazil, and Costa Rica. The average cost of a BA in TJ is $3500.

For more info on SCGI: http://www.implantinfo.com/breast_implants/silicone_gel_breast_implants/silicone_gel_breast_implants.htm

One of our members, Jodi, is suffering from complications after plastic surgery in Argentina with Dr. Lodolo (once worked with Plenitas).
As I write this she is in a hospital bed, with an IV hooked to her heart. She has Septicemia, otherwise known as blood poisoning. Her husband Marcello reported that the doctors have given Jodi a 50% survival rate and that she is delirious.

The forum is truly devastated as this is the worse complication one of our members has ever expereinced in our 3 years of our support forum’s life. Her story and contact info can be found on the Argentina forum on the PSJ board.

Please pray for Jodi and keep her family in your thoughts.

Updated Sunday, April 9th.

New Update April 11th: Jodi is doing much better! She is up and posting… Fully conscious! Thanks for all your prayers… will keep you posted…

In reading through the last year’s NBC article on Lipo-Tourism, when I realized that there is a difference between “lipo-tourism” and “lipotourism.”

The NBC article defines “lipo-tourism” as “foreign doctors who offer cut-rate surgery and Americans who are willing to go overseas to go under the knife.”

“Lipotourism”, however, is apperantly copywrited, and according to the website http://www.phudson.com/TOURISM/lipotourism.html , it is a term owned by Dr. Hudson in Alberquerque, NM.

Dr. Hudson’s website says it is the combination of vacation and surgery at the same time. In the link above, Dr. Hudson describes his tips for reasearching lipotourism. My favorite is “a good vacation spot is not always the same as a good place to have surgery.”

I have my own definition of this phenonmena - the plastic surgery journey. Because, god knows, it is not a vacation. And god also knows, there is very little tourist activity going on through these journeys.

We call it a journey because it is descriptive of both the inward, emotional journey and outward physical journey. Yes, we phisically arrive to a destination, but for those of us who go abroad for plastic surgery know, the journey by no means ends when we return home, as the recovery and learning to get used to the new us is also part of this journey.

Whatever you call it, I think it is unanomous, that one should research in detail, reveiw the risks, and understand that this may not be for everybody.

Wow. Wikipedia defines Medical Tourism.

Here is the link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_tourism

Medical tourism is the act of traveling to other countries to obtain medical, dental, and surgical care. A combination of many factors has lead to the recent increase in popularity of medical tourism: exorbitant costs of healthcare in industrialized nations, ease and affordability of international travel, favorable currency exchange rates in the global economy, rapidly improving technology and standards of care in many countries of the world.

Medical tourists are generally residents of the industrialized nations of the world, the countries they travel are typically the less developed ones with favourable currency exchange ratios.

There are also many companies that can help arrange patients’ surgeries, travel arrangements and tours. Each company works differently, so it is recommended to thoroughly research each company before making a choice.

I just want to take a moment to commend Bob, a fellow PSJer for a very informative personal website on his experience with plastic surgery in Costa Rica. His website is @
http://www.bobsplace.uptweb.us .

My fav section is the photo diary. Here he shows the stages of facelift recovery by posting a pic by week.

Also included, is lots of detailed info on the recovery retreat he used, called Martha Quiroz Retreat.

I love that this was created by a man… he he. And it is great info from a patient - to a patient.

Quote from BOB:

Plastic Surgery in the United States is extremely expensive. Instead of demand lowering prices, we are being offered longer financing terms. This is why thousands are now seeking plastic surgery out of the United States. In many countries we find state of the art medical facilities, american and foreign trained plastic surgeons with sterling reputations and aftercare facilities that bring plastic surgery procedures within the reach of the middle class. Costs in foreign countries can be anywhere from 50% to 70% less than in the U.S.