(LifeWire)  -- Colleen Hiltbrunner spent two years researching her dream trip to South Africa. But she wasn't looking for the perfect safari lodge. She was hunting for the right cosmetic surgeon.



When she told her family, it wasn't an easy sell. "South Africa? You're going to get some kind of witch doctor," she recalls her father saying.



"But I told him they perfected some of the first heart surgeries down there. To me, South Africa had the most reputable surgeons."



Hiltbrunner, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, traveled to Johannesburg in 2004 for a face-lift, upper arm lift and eyelid surgery. And she and her husband -- who hadn't taken a vacation in 20 years -- went on a luxury safari, included in the package by medical-travel agency Surgeon and Safari.



"Medical tourism" may sound strange, but patients are discovering they can get some cosmetic surgeries abroad for less than the U.S. price. And many surgeries include sightseeing packages.



The roster of countries in which hospitals and surgeons are marketing their services to foreigners is growing. South Africa, Argentina, Thailand, Brazil, Costa Rica, India and Singapore have become major players.



Robert Painter, a travel writer from Albuquerque, New Mexico, journeyed last year to Argentina for dental surgeries -- and tango lessons: "If I'm going to be stuck somewhere for two weeks at a time, twice, Buenos Aires has got to be the best possible place," he says



Painter's procedures were organized by Plenitas, a medical-travel facilitator in Buenos Aires, which booked him at a hotel with a dance studio in the back.



He wasn't the only guest getting surgery: "While I was there, there was a young lady who was also having implants -- though not of the dental type."



Cost-cutting pros and cons



Cosmetic, or elective, procedures aren't covered by insurance, so cost remains the motivating factor for most medical tourists. Surgeries in many countries cost half or even one-fifth what they would in the U.S. -- including airfare, hotel and excursions. "A full face-lift that would cost $20,000 in the U.S. runs about $1,250 in South Africa," a 2005 article in U-Daily, the University of Delaware's online news service noted.



Faith Richter, of Hope Sound, Florida, got a face-lift in Bangkok, Thailand. Her trip was organized by New York City's Med Journeys.



"In the U.S., it would have cost $20,000 for the procedure alone, with no time in the hospital," she says. In Bangkok, Richter was in the hospital four days, and the total cost of her 19-day trip, including sightseeing and airfare for two, was $10,600.



Painter estimates he saved $18,000 on his surgeries. "Cost was the primary factor," he says. "The only factor."



Medical costs abroad are less than in the U.S. for many reasons -- favorable exchange rates, lower salaries and fewer medical lawsuits, which means lower malpractice-insurance costs.



But the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery warns against low-cost surgery. "Get bargains on your shoes and laundry detergent, not on your face," says spokesman Tony Staffieri.



"Researching the quality of doctors should be a patient's primary consideration, but it isn't always," he says. "Some people think 'tummy tuck and shopping.' This is not makeup; it's somebody cutting you."



Some medical professionals fear that patients will overlook the severity of invasive surgeries and fail to ask the right questions. More casual attitudes toward plastic surgery -- spurred by lunch-break Botox treatments and same-day liposuctions, paired with temptingly cheap alternatives and vacation packages -- increase the risk of bad outcomes.



Even stateside, cosmetic surgery can have tragic results. "First Wives Club" author Olivia Goldsmith died during a chin-tuck in 2004, and this year Kanye West's mother, Donda, died after a tummy tuck and breast
What are prices like overseas? Where are prices cheaper? Where is it cheaper? Is it covered by insurance?
"A full face-lift that would cost $20,000 in the U.S. runs about $1,250 in South Africa," South Africa, Argentina, Thailand, Brazil, Costa Rica, India and Singapore abroad Cosmetic, or elective, procedures aren't
question: What are prices like overseas?, answer: "A full face-lift that would cost $20,000 in the U.S. runs about $1,250 in South Africa," | question: Where are prices cheaper?, answer: South Africa, Argentina, Thailand, Brazil, Costa Rica, India and Singapore | question: Where is it cheaper?, answer: abroad | question: Is it covered by insurance?, answer: Cosmetic, or elective, procedures aren't