Europeans Take Beauty Trip to U.S.

Many Europeans once considered American plastic surgeons -- with their top-notch skills and celebrity clientele -- to be an extravagance. Now, they might be a bargain.
Surgeons in New York, Florida and California say they are seeing an influx of overseas patients who are taking advantage of the weak dollar to schedule cosmetic surgery, sometimes combining it with shopping and sightseeing excursions.

Michael C. Witte
"I wanted to have a face-lift, but I was on a very tight budget," says Leslie Reynolds, a manager of a London skin-care clinic who is in her 50s. After conferring with a plastic surgery consultant, she selected a surgeon in Palm Beach, Fla., and flew there for surgery, followed by a two-week stay at a beach resort. She says her total expenses came to about $14,000, less than she would have paid for a face-lift at a private medical clinic in London.
U.S. hospitals and prominent plastic surgeons have begun to tailor marketing campaigns targeted at Europeans, touting both their medical expertise as well as lower cost. Some U.S. plastic surgeons are promoting themselves through in-flight magazines read by international travelers. The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary in Manhattan, one of the U.S.'s oldest specialty hospitals, is preparing to launch a marketing campaign in London. The initiative is "capitalizing on the value of the dollar" as well as a recognition that New York is "very much a destination," says Allan Fine, a hospital vice president.
In the past three years, the U.S. dollar has fallen by 24% against the euro, and 11% against the British pound.
"With the exchange rate in favor of most European currencies, cosmetic surgery in New York has become more affordable and less expensive than in Europe," according to a draft of a brochure the hospital is getting ready to distribute. Face-lifts, eyelid surgery and nasal plastic surgery are among the featured offerings. The hospital said it is also planning an ad program in some specialized regional publications in the U.K. A plastic surgeon in London has been lined up by the hospital to care for the medical travelers after they return home. On an adjusted basis, prices are expected to be about 25% lower than for comparable services in London, according to the hospital.
While there are no data on how many foreigners are traveling to the U.S. for plastic surgery, patients, surgeons and consultants say they are seeing an increase. "There's no question this is a trend now," says Wendy Lewis, a plastic surgery consultant who regularly travels between London and New York. "The psychological cachet of having something done in New York or L.A. carries weight with many Europeans," she adds. She estimates that it costs the equivalent of $30,000 to have a face-lift with eyelid surgery in London, including one night in a hospital and a semiprivate room. In New York, it's about $22,000, so the difference pays for the trip, she says.
The arrival of foreign patients in the U.S. marks a shift in the way medical tourism has flowed when it is cost-driven. Many uninsured Americans travel to Asia for procedures like heart surgery or hip replacements. Cosmetic operations account for only a fraction of medical travel, according to a recent study prepared by the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. The overall medical-travel market is small, but its potential for growth is significant, the study concludes.
The U.S. has always been a center for plastic surgery, not because of price, but because of high quality, says Foad Nahai, president of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Europeans are realizing that for the price of a surgeon in their own country they can afford an internationally recognized specialist in the U.S.
Bryan Forley, a plastic surgeon in New York, says he first noticed an uptick in international patients two or three years ago. His office arranges lodging and nursing care for overseas patients at hotels near his office in Manhattan. A British patient who came for surgery this year says she was surprised by the personal service she received from Dr. Forley, including a post-surgical checkup at her hotel on a Sunday morning.
Many surgeons acknowledge that the U.S. economic slowdown is forcing them to work harder to find patients. "We are willing to try other markets because of what's happening" to consumer spending here, says John Sherman, a plastic surgeon in New York. He says some Europeans have found him through a full-page advertisement in American Airlines' American Way in-flight magazine. The ads, listing more than half a dozen of "The Best Plastic Surgeons in America," are designed to publicize endorsements by Castle Connolly, an independent provider of physician information.
Kim Koger, the Florida surgeon who operated on Ms. Reynolds, says he never expected his practice to have so many international patients. "I'm not sure if it's the nice euro exchange rate" or because the European jet set likes to vacation in Florida, he says. Dr. Koger says he has operated on patients from Spain, France, Germany and the U.K., including some who own homes in South Florida.
Ms. Reynolds says that after initially contacting Dr. Koger, his assistant suggested staying at the nearby Jupiter Beach Resort, which has tennis courts, pools and a gym. She says that she and a friend arrived two days before surgery and stayed for 12 days afterward.
Ms. Reynolds says she is very happy with the results of her surgery. "Now, one of my sisters wants to go after Christmas and I might go with her to see Dr. Koger for a checkup," she says.

Source: online wsj