"You get what you pay for" is often good advice but only to a point.

Unfortunately, many younger patients tend to emphasize price as their main selection factor and simply expect that all surgeons in practice are more or less the same. This is no more true for doctors than it is for cars or computers.

Don't expect too much from a discounter advertising unbelievably low fees, but then don't assume that the more you pay, the more you get. Price does not assure quality.

While services of top plastic surgeons are always in high demand and so naturally more expensive, any doctor is free to charge whatever price he or she so pleases.

Some patients in the United States, for instance, consider traveling to South Korea or China for plastic surgery because the fees there are typically much lower.

While there are many good surgeons throughout Asia-Pacific, price alone should not be the determining factor if the quality of available care is not first rate.

However, if the total medical package (surgeon skill, operating facility, lodging and transportation costs, etc) seems to offer real quality at exceptional value, traveling to see a far-off specialist may appeal to the more adventuresome.