Rhinoplasty With Rhinos.(foreigners come to South Africa for plastic surgery)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

After struggling to raise three children on her own, Diana Davison decided this year to spend some savings on herself. So the British woman and a friend, Kathleen Rosenthal, headed for South Africa, where last week they found themselves bouncing across the Cradle Nature Reserve in a Land Rover. They took in caves filled with ancient fossil relics, watched rhinos and giraffes and enjoyed a lavish picnic in an acacia grove. But the highlight of the holiday was yet to come: an afternoon under a surgeon's scalpel. As part of their package tour, Davison and Rosenthal had booked face-lifts along with the safari. When a herd of impala dashed across the road, Davison, 65, joked, "They're only running because we haven't had our faces done yet."

Davison and Rosenthal have joined the growing ranks of tourists leaving South Africa with more than a tan and a wooden giraffe. The country is rapidly becoming a top destination for plastic surgery, the result of its weakening currency and its longstanding reputation for medical excellence. "The lower the rand falls, the more advantageous it is for people to come," says Gavin Morrison, a former president of the Association of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons of South Africa. John Hill, a Cape Town surgeon who performs laser eye surgery, says his foreign clientele has more than doubled in the last year. The procedure costs 9,000 rand for both eyes --just over $1,000, compared with [Pound sterling]9,000 in England. For a full face-lift, a trip to South Africa can save $10,000. "A couple can go on a two- to three-week holiday here for less than the cost of a face-lift in New York," says Alastair Lamont, a Johannesburg plastic surgeon.

Now the travel industry has hit upon a novel approach to capitalize on the trend: surgery-and-safari packages. Increasingly, agencies are offering face-lifts and tummy tucks as part of vacation packages that include safari trips, sightseeing and shopping. Patients can have everything arranged, from airport transfers to a post-op recovery house complete with maid, gardener and masseuse. The one thing travel agents can't book: the actual surgery. South African law prohibits plastic surgeons from touting their services or from ...