February 11, 2003 -- A small but growing number of people are choosing to take plastic surgery vacations, where patients travel abroad to have procedures performed at cut-rate (no pun intended) prices or to recuperate in an exotic setting.

People will go anywhere -- and pay any price -- in search of thinner thighs and a straighter nose. Despite the risk, people continue to sign up for plastic surgery vacations and more programs are being created every day. Even stars such as Demi Moore, who has spend hundreds of thousands on a complete body makeover, is reported to have done some of the surgery overseas away from the glaring eyes of the U.S. tabloid press.

Nearly every third-world country with swaying palm trees, beaches and a weak currency is offering these kind of packages. Type "surgery vacation" into a web search engine, and hundreds of programs offered in Honduras, Costa Rica, Malaysia and Mexico will pop up.

While there are no statistics on how many people have actually participated in plastic surgery vacations, many surgeons are appalled at this trend because of the added risks involved. Any surgical procedure, cosmetic or otherwise, has an inherent health risk, but flying after surgery can be particularly dangerous because of the added risk of deep vein thrombosis, also known as "economy class syndrome."

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