Las Vegas becoming destination for plastic surgery tourism

A nip here, a tuck there — Las Vegas Valley’s medical industry has been evolving for years.

And as the region continues to advertise to tourists as a destination for medical services, one sector in particular has blossomed: plastic surgery.

“Las Vegas being an international city, people love coming here,” said Dr. Jeffrey J. Roth, a local surgeon whose client list includes boxer Manny Pacquiao.

Roth is one of many surgeons benefiting from an enhanced cosmetic medical tourism market.

Dr. Samir Pancholi said Las Vegas has become an international hot spot for plastic surgery, with people traveling to find the doctor who best suits them. That means local doctors are working to keep up with international trends and the latest innovations, he said.

“People want to come to Las Vegas and they want to have an experience,” Pancholi said. “It does keep all of the surgeons here on their toes.”

Douglas Geinzer, CEO of the health association Las Vegas Heals, said that though local statistics are scant, international and U.S. visitors increasingly come here for cosmetic surgery.

He cites the convenience of services, the city’s entertainment options, the rise of internet research by consumers and expertise of local surgeons. Roth said some offices might do 100 or more of a given surgery in a year.

For procedures that don’t require hospitalization, patients often book vacations and consider surgery just one of the many activities they’ll do while in town.

Roth said that he and other physicians often develop relationships with limousine companies and hotels, and they can use that knowledge to help clients figure out where to stay or how to get to and from the airport and surgery. There are also independent companies that package those services and offer them to tourists in town.

“If you had to pick a city that was set up for medical tourism, it would be Las Vegas,” Roth said.

Another potential benefit of a Las Vegas procedure for tourists is privacy. Clients who don’t want friends or family to know about their procedures or see them with bandages and bruises can enjoy the city, stay for follow-ups and take in the sights without running into someone they know.

“This is where we lean into the brand of ‘What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,’ ” Geinzer said.

Carol Bott, a former California resident who moved to the valley in January, chose to travel to Las Vegas in October for surgery by Pancholi.

Though her primary motivation was that she has a friend here who could take care of her after surgery, she said she was impressed by the number of physicians here and wanted an experienced surgeon who she could fully communicate with.

After the surgery, which included a lower face lift, chin implant, upper and lower eyelid surgery, among other things, she decided to move to the area.

“If people would just open their eyes,” she said, “they’d see how many options there are.”

Surgeons say they generally require patients to stay in the area at least a week if they’re undergoing more major surgery, rather than a minor cosmetic procedure. They suggest finding a board-certified plastic surgeon, looking up that person’s medical disciplinary record online and asking questions.

“It’s still real surgery,” Roth said.

Contact Pashtana Usufzy at pusufzy@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4563. Follow @pashtana_u on Twitter.