West Australians are returning from their overseas adventures with more than a tan and some cheap T-shirts - a growing number are arriving home with a whole new look thanks to cut-price cosmetic surgery.
With procedures in some locations costing around half of the prices in WA, medical tourism is on the rise as more and more people opt to combine surgery with a holiday.
Rebecca Degenaar, owner of Restored Beauty Getaways - a Perth-based cosmetic surgery travel firm - said that she flew up to 50 people a month to Thailand for a range of procedures, the most popular being breast augmentation, breast lifts, tummy tucks, facelifts and liposuction.
But it's not just cosmetic surgery people are after - some are going for otherwise pricey dental work, LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) eye surgery, Botox, teeth bleaching and more.
Favourable exchange rates, lower labour costs and lower running costs mean that these medical procedures can be offered at prices well below those available in Australia
And while price was a big motivator for many people, Miss Degenaar said that the opportunity to have a holiday away from housework, children and other commitments was part of the attraction.
Travel.com.au's Lisa Ferrari said the popular destinations for Australians seeking medical procedures were Thailand, India, Malaysia, the Philippines and South Africa.
A Travel Trends survey conducted last year found 31 per cent of WA women would consider travelling overseas for a medical procedure.
"Medical tourism is still very much in its infancy and, as people come to have a better understanding of standards across the international hospitals and the opportunities that are available, we think we will see more Australians travelling overseas, particularly if these procedures get more expensive in Australia and the waiting lists get longer," she said.
But Mark Duncan-Smith, president of the WA Society of Plastic Surgeons, warned those flying overseas to overhaul their looks were putting their health at risk.
"The bottom line is if someone won't drink the water in a country then it just doesn't make any sense to me that they would go there and get cosmetic surgery - or any surgery for that matter," he said.
"For the life of me I don't understand why a girl would want to go to a South- East Asian city, have surgery and sit around a pool doped up a little bit on painkillers allegedly enjoying a holiday while she recovers from her surgery.
"(They should) look at the dollars they are saving and ask themselves if their health is worth it."
Mr Duncan-Smith said that he regularly saw patients after botched overseas surgery - about one every four to six weeks, usually in relation to breast augmentation, facelifts or eyelid surgery.
Last year, one patient needed help after her blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery) went wrong. There were issues with scarring and her eyelids were not the same, making her face appear skewed.
Also, he operated recently on a patient who had free silicone injected into her breasts. Normally the silicone is contained within an implant.
"It caused a lot of scar tissue. One was literally like a rock and the other one had lots of lumps through it," he said.
"That surgery was done in Asia and those sorts of things just don't happen here.
"I'm sure there are patients who go over there, have the surgery and they are fine.
"But one of the problems with this whole process is you don't really find out how good your surgeon is until there's a problem.
"If you are now 3000km from your surgeon and you are seeing an office person who is not medically trained who is going to take photos (and send them overseas for advice) then you really have got to question your back-up and what sort of support services you have got."
There were also concerns that breast implants and other items used in cosmetic procedures might be sub-standard.
Mr Duncan-Smith said that some breast implant companies had reported fake implants coming out of Asia following the discovery of implants stamped with the logo of a credible company which had not been made by that company.
Miss Degenaar agreed that people should be wary of dodgy overseas providers. However, she said that there were also good ones who offered excellent outcomes for sometimes half the cost of surgery in WA.
Her clients were thoroughly screened before flying to Thailand for their surgery and were required to stay in the country for a minimum amount of time after their surgery to attend follow-up appointments.
For breast augmentation, this meant a stay of around eight nights which included a two-night hospital stay.
"(After returning to Perth) we ask clients to get into contact with us if they have any concerns and then we can get in touch with their surgeon as soon as possible," she said.
"It might be just going to see their local GP if it is to do with wound care. If it was anything more serious than that and the surgeon was at fault, we would fly them back no charge and he would correct at no charge."
However, to date none of her clients had reported problems requiring further surgery.
Miss Degenaar said there would always be a market for low-cost cosmetic surgery and her business hadn't been affected by the global financial crisis or rising interest rates.
"The desire for cosmetic surgery doesn't go away," she said.
"People will always want to do something or change something and, because it is cheaper to go overseas, it is still a solution for people."