On Rodeo Drive, Lloyd Krieger, the founder and medical director of
Rodeo Drive Plastic Surgery, estimates that 25 percent of his patients
come from destinations more than two hours away. He's had patients from
New Zealand, Ireland, and Saudi Arabia. "It is not something that was
premeditated on our part," said Krieger of the increase in travelers
visiting his 3-year-old clinic. "It just developed pretty spontaneously.
As we saw it happening, we built infrastructure to support it. We basically
just got better at accommodating people and making the trips easy, convenient,
and safe." Rodeo Drive Plastic Surgery now offers a "transformation
vacation," which the clinic helps organize for its patients without
collecting money from third parties. A staff member is assigned to help
set patients up at high-end hotels including the Tower Beverly Hills
and the Beverly Wilshire for extended stays during their recovery. And
some hotels around the city even offer discounts for patients that are
getting plastic surgery through the clinic.