Coming soon to a mall near you: tummy tucks, boob jobs, and booty lifts.
With extreme makeovers more popular than ever, plastic surgeons are
going retail. The ritziest new entrant: Rodeo Drive Plastic Surgery,
a $1 million Beverly Hills facility that opened in August near Chanel
and Hugo Boss. The 5,000-square-foot center, the fanciest of a handful
of similar facilities, has sumptuous exam rooms with leather chairs,
marble countertops, and bamboo floors. It’s all part of a “retail medicine”
trend that has gained ground over the past few years, in which doctors
perform procedures like laser eye surgery and arthroscopic knee repairs
away from traditional hospital settings. As the thinking goes, Why check
into a chaotic building full of sick people if you really don’t have
to? Convenience is another factor. “It’s the Jiffy Lube approach to
health care,” says Kelly Pyrek, editor of Today’s Surgicenter, a trade
magazine. While cosmetic surgery typically isn’t covered by insurance,
retailers can often offer lower prices than hospitals because they have
less overhead. At Rodeo Drive, breast augmentations and face-lifts run
“slightly less” than the $3,000 to $5,000 average, says founder and
medical director Lloyd Krieger. “It’s as safe as a hospital but at a
more reasonable cost.” Hey, could be the only bargain in the neighborhood.
– David Stires