Abstract
This paper discusses consumer behavior dynamics that are starting to emerge from the pervasive outsourcing of services. The paper particularly focuses on the outsourcing of plastic surgery and describes the way in which consumers from wealthier countries fly to South Africa and combine surgery with safari, in order to receive cheaper, but quality services.

From the Paper
"For any business model or even the strategies that support them to survive, there has to be more of a balance between the 4 Ps of marketing which include promotion, place or distribution, and product in addition to price. In fact price is the most volatile and over-used of differentiators in many companies and entire industries. This has been exacerbated by global outsourcing strategies in many industries, with many looking for the 40% reduction in costs to justify moving their services spending, manufacturing operations, or both offshore. Yet pricing cannot sustain a business model for more than several quarters, even in the most commoditized of industries, according to research completed by Marn, Roegner, and Zawada of McKinsey and Company (The Power of Pricing, Pages 27 - 36)."

Tags:patients, global, quality

Abstract
The paper discusses plastic surgery and poses some questions: Is plastic surgery right for you? Why even think about plastic surgery? What are the reasons for someone to have plastic surgery? What are the risks? The paper notes that the number of cosmetic surgeries is rapidly increasing. The paper points out that it is important to consider the risks involved in plastic surgery compared to the benefits of having it. The paper adds that it is also important to check the credential of the plastic surgeon and to interview the surgeon.

From the Paper
"Is plastic surgery right for you? Why even think about plastic surgery? What are the reasons for someone to have plastic surgery? What are the risks? In a recent issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, it shows that only 5% of young college-aged women have plastic surgery (Epidemic of Cosmetic Procedures 81). However, the number of cosmetic surgeries is rapidly increasing. "The number of surgical and nonsurgical cosmetic procedures in the United States increased by 44% in 2004 to a total of nearly 11.9 million" (Cosmetic procedures 50). What are some of the cosmetic surgeries that people have? "Top surgical and nonsurgical cosmetic procedures among all Americans in 2004 included liposuction, Botox, breast augmentation, laser hair removal, eyelid surgery, chemical peel, rhinoplasty, microdermabrasion, face lift and hyaluronic acid" (Cosmetic procedures 50)."

Tags:plastic, surgery, risks

Abstract
This paper studies the plastic surgery industry in the United States. It focuses on breast implants and face lifts. It describes the history of the field and discusses the current techniques. The paper contends that cosmetic surgery has become a multi-billion dollar industry and involves many more average Americans than stars and wealthy patients. The industry is thriving despite the controversy over the breast implant surgery and the future looks very profitable. The paper concludes that the industry of plastic surgery will continue to thrive and prosper in the future, especially in the United States.

From the Paper
"Until several decades ago plastic surgery was reserved for the very wealthy and Hollywood movie stars. They would go into hiding, and come out a few weeks later looking younger than they did before. Everyone knew something had been lifted or tucked but it was rarely vocalized in public. Then the breast implant market hit the scene and the plastic surgery industry exploded into a Mecca of revenue and business. Women between 18 and 80 were rushing to have their breasts enlarged. Once this became an accepted practice it was not long before the "average" person was taking vacation time from work to have a face-lift. Cosmetic surgery has become a multi-billion dollar industry and involves many more average Americans than stars and wealthy patients. The industry is thriving even given the controversy over the breast implant surgery and the future looks very profitable. "

Tags:Plastic, Cosmetic, surgery, Hollywood, face, lift, breast, implant, United, States, industry

Abstract
In this paper the author argues against foreigners coming to South Africa for "in-secret" plastic surgery procedures. This is also known as the "surgery and safari" package. The author cites the low rate of the rand against the dollar as promoting this fad. The paper concludes by discussing the down-side of plastic surgery vacations, especially the health risks.

Rhinoplasy but no rhinos
What's happening in South Africa
The upside of this marketing ploy
The downside
Is this a good marketing idea?
References

From the Paper
"For retired couples or individuals with money and time to spend, the idea of going on a safari adventure at the same time scars are healing sounds like something most appealing, especially top those who obviously have a lust for life (figuring that they want to hide the ravages of age by surgery in the first place). It is also an interesting way of consuming time, waiting for wounds to heal, and being thousands of miles from family, friends and neighbors to whom one might look "wounded" after surgery."

Tags:cosmetic surgery, foreign medicine, travel, medical services

Abstract
This paper discusses the background of plastic surgery. It looks into both genres of plastic surgery - reconstructive surgery and cosmetic or aesthetic surgery. The paper discusses the pros of plastic surgery, particularly in the realm of reconstructive surgery and then discusses its cons, particularly the medical risks and uncertainties that are associated with it.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Background of Plastic Surgery
Plastic Surgery Cons
Plastic Surgery Pros

From the Paper
"Plastic surgery also has several advantages, especially in the area of reconstructive surgery. Reconstructive surgery is used to correct deficiencies that would otherwise have no means of treatment. Reconstructive surgery has made some of the most notable advancements in the area of microsurgery, and can be used to repair birth defects, such as cleft pallets, and internal forms of function. It can also be used to repair injuries suffered in accidents, and has led to saving limbs and restoring joints that otherwise would be irreparable. Burns can be repaired by skin grafting, and facial injuries involving extensive dental repair are common procedures for plastic surgery, that can improve an individual's self esteem as well as their ability to perform usual and normal functions. Additionally, the field of plastic surgery has widely grown, increasing the accuracy of procedures. Finally, as innovations in this area allow plastic surgery to flourish, the restoration of normal human form and function will become safer."

Tags:aesthetic, grafts, pallet

Abstract
This paper discusses that modern plastic surgery has its origins in World War I as physicians attempted to return, to some degree of wholeness, the many soldiers who were so terribly mutilated. This paper focuses on plastic surgery with examples of nose and breast reshaping. The author feels that plastic surgery was used mostly not to express women's essential freedom and modernity but to try to please the men in their lives who still had substantial power over them.

From the Paper
"But, it was even more controversial when performed for cosmetic reasons especially when it was performed on women. Women were gaining a great deal of social, political and economic power in the 1920s " spurred by their having gained the franchise in 1920 " and the look of the Flapper as the modern woman was seen as threatening to many. Bobbed hair, bobbed skirts and bobbed noses seemed to many people all to be symptoms of the too-great power that women were gaining in society."

Tags:World, War, I, cosmetic, Flapper

Abstract
This paper explains the origins of plastic surgery, looks at the technological advancements that have aided the evolution of plastic surgery, describes the different types of plastic surgery, and discusses its psychological effects.

From the Paper
"The term "plastic" is derived from the Greek syllable "plastikos" meaning "mold" or "give shape to". Plastic surgery is a special branch of medicine that deals with curing or rectifying facial disfigurement, scarring or other anomalies in the physical features that are either congenital or accidental. Advancements in technology have broadened the scope of plastic surgery and today it is performed for a variety of cosmetic purposes like, face-lift, breast implantation, reduction, penile enlargement etc. The historic origin of plastic surgery is traced back to India (hundreds of years BC), where a text has references to what can be called as modern day rhinoplasty. Then in Italy during the sixteenth century Gasparo Tagliocozzi specialized techniques to treat facial disfigurement. He is also credited with the publication (1597) of the first comprehensive account of skin transplantation method in his work "De curtorum chirurgia per insitionem," [Alysa R herman]. But plastic surgery, as a specialist branch of medicine became prominent only during the World War 1 period where the exigencies of the wartime situation and the horribly mutilated faces of thousands of soldiers demanded new methods of treatment and "maxillofacial surgery" evolved. [Elizabeth Haiken]"

Tags:surgeons, wartime, services, sir, harold, gilles, vilray, blair, robert, ivy, lee, cohen, varaztad, kazangian, tubed, pedicle, graft, reconstructive, cosmetic

Abstract
The paper discusses the influence of American beauty standards on Asian women and the resulting increase in plastic surgeries to make Asian women appear more Western.

From the Paper
"The culture of most Asian civilizations, including that of China, has been described by Sodaro as collectivist, oriented toward certainty, respectful of authority and resistant to the influence of external values, norms and constructs. This particular view of Asian culture in general and Chinese culture in particular, suggests that resistance to aesthetic influences emerging from non-Oriental societies would be strong. However, in recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the use of various plastic surgery procedures among Asian women..."

Tags:beauty, plastic surgery, Asian culture

Abstract
In this article, the writer notes that it is common knowledge that many people find it desirable to undergo surgery for facelifts and other kinds of "corrective" surgery. However, the writer points out that what is not perhaps as well known is that many people have "cosmetic" surgery for reasons that go well beyond vanity. Some have plastic surgery to eliminate severe facial deformities; some go under the knife to deal with the erosion of their self-esteem, while others get plastic surgery to repair a bothersome physical feature. This paper takes the position that while there are definitely risks involved in plastic surgery proceedings, in most cases the potential good that came come from the surgery is well worth the medical risk. And further, the writer maintains that the science of corrective surgery has reached the point where the risks are minimized and the results are very worth the risks. Still, it is very important for the patient to do his or her homework prior to going into cosmetic surgery. The material presented in this paper explains why advance research is vital.

From the Paper
"There have been instances in which people undergoing plastic surgery have been injured or killed. Two women died in New York in the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital after undergoing plastic surgery in 2003, Shute explains; the hospital was fined $20,000 for "egregious violations" of safety procedures because of those deaths. In Florida there were eight deaths of plastic surgery patients over an 18-month period in 2003-2004; as a result, Shute continues, the health officials in Florida imposed a three-month ban on surgeries that combine liposuction and tummy tucks. What happens during cosmetic surgery that can cause death? According to this article people can and do get infections, especially when they go abroad to places like the Dominican Republic or Mexico for "cut-rate" surgery; in some foreign countries the attention to sterile, clean surgical conditions is perhaps not as great as it should be."

Tags:physician, patient, hospital, surgeon

Abstract
This paper considers whether a group arranging safaris and combining them with plastic surgery in South Africa for European and American tourists would be better charging a higher price for the surgery and eliminating the safari.

From the Paper
"Surgeon and Safari arranges vacations to South Africa for Europeans and Americans who want to enjoy a safari while having plastic surgery. The surgery is performed at state-of-the-art facilities while the safaris take place at one of the game reserves in the country. The combination has been an attractive draw for those clients who want to have the surgery but who also want to have privacy and who may want to combine the surgery with a trip to Africa..."

Tags:4Ps, pricing, south africa, safaris, plastic surgery, tourists