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10 Things You Should Know About Safari Surgery Nip-Tuck Tourism In South Africa

10 Things You Should Know About Safari Surgery Nip-Tuck Tourism In South Africa

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Plastic surgery can be expensive and risky. If you want the most skilled surgeons, you have to shell out even more money. So how do those searching for a little nip/tuck reduce the cost but not the risk? They travel to South Africa, where the exchange rate is as good as many of the country’s surgeons.

Here are 10 things you should know about safari surgery nip-tuck tourism in South Africa.

Thinkstock
Thinkstock

Travel packages involve plastic surgery

Cosmetic surgery tourism”; did you ever think you’d hear the term? More and more travel agencies catering to South African tourists offer cosmetic surgery in their travel packages. Airfare, hotel, and a new nose: what a deal.

Wikipedia.org
Wikipedia.org

How popular is it?

South Africa has seen a 780-percent increase in plastic surgery procedures, according to CnbcAfrica.com.

Pixabay.com
Pixabay.com

What are the perks of going to South Africa for surgery?

The majority of those partaking in cosmetic surgery tourism come from the U.K., the U.S. and Japan. ConsultancyAfrica.com says they are uninsured, underinsured, or wanted to have a procedure done without being wait-listed.

Source: ConsultancyAfrica.com

lion cubs
Shutterstock

And yes, there is safari

Once the patient is ready, the agency offers real safari activities and makes all bookings. In other words, a lion might see the your new facelift before your friends back at home do.

Flickr.com
Flickr.com

Personal assistants

Surgeon and Safari offers a personal assistant in all its packages. The assistant accompanies the patient along every step of the process from the airport pickup to every consultation, the surgery itself and the recovery.

Pexels.com
Pexels.com

How long is the recovery?

A top Cape Town plastic surgeon, Dr. Paul Skoll, recommends patients of most procedures stay at least 10 days in town for recovery after surgery. Patients who get full tummy tucks, breast reductions and facelifts should stay three weeks.

Torange.us
Torange.us

There’s more than plastic surgery

According to SouthAfrica.net, people travel from all over the world to South Africa to make use of the country’s top cardiologists, gynaecologists, orthodontists and more.

heritagehealthmagazine.com
heritagehealthmagazine.com

Who is getting work done?

Plastic surgery in South Africa has seen a significant increase in black middle-class men and women opting for cosmetic procedures, CnbcAfrica.com reports. One South African plastic surgeon, Willem Erasmus, says this is a big change that’s only happened in the last decade. Prior to that, it was mostly white, middle-aged men and women opting for plastic surgery in the region.

Wikipedia.org
Wikipedia.org

What are the popular procedures?

According to South African plastic surgeon Willem Erasmus, black women prefer buttock augmentations, nip-tuck procedures, breast reductions and lip reductions, CNBCAfrica reports. White women prefer liposuction or nose jobs.

www.search24news.com
www.search24news.com

How much is it in South Africa

In 2015, a breast augmentation in South African cost around $3,600 USD, a facelift cost $5,000 and liposuction cost around $4,500, according to JetSetTimes.com.

Photo: southafrica.net

Post-surgery care is included

Surgeon and Safari, a cosmetic surgery tourism agency, arranges for all consultations, provides cost estimate, helps prepare patients for their operations, and puts recovering patients up in 4-star accommodations complete with nursing staff.

expanding health insurance to Africa
Photo: ipmimagazine

Is it just South Africa?

North Africa, especially Tunisia and Egypt, was a hub for cosmetic surgery tourism. Political unrest sent visiting patients to South Africa.

This AFKInsider article was originally published on Nov. 2, 2015.