Tour operators offer trips for plastic surgery bargains

NEW package holidays for Scots include cut-price plastic surgery overseas.

The specialised deals include boob jobs, tummy tucks, liposuction and face-lifts.

A growing number of Scots now seek health treatment overseas at up to half the UK costs.

The move comes just weeks after a recent study revealed more than 50,000 Brits travelled abroad for treatment last year - 25 per cent more than in 2005.

Dental work is the most popular for medical tourists with cosmetic surgery a close second.

And people wanting hip or knee replacements, laser eye surgery and cataract removal are skipping NHS waiting lists and UK private treatment for operations abroad.

Bill Munro, who founded Barrhead Travel, wants to launch his new medical holidays this summer to countries including Norway, France, Belgium, Germany and Egypt.

He said: "Our deals will be between 30 and 50 per cent cheaper than the the price of treatments in the UK and that will include travel and hotel.

"People having cosmetic work will be able to fly and those having orthopaedic treatment will be able to use European rail services including the Channel Tunnel."

He went on: "There is a great deal of demand out there for these services. People are fed up of waiting lists and scared of the spread of MRSA, so going overseas is becoming more popular."

Researchers predict NHS budget shortfalls, waiting lists and fears over MRSA and other hospital superbugs in the UK will lead to the trend growing further.

Brits are now spending £160million ayear on medical treatment abroad.

Keith Pollard, director of medical tourism firm Treatment Abroad, which carried out the recent research, said: "We have seen visits to our internet site grow from 3000 a month to over 60,000.

"We wanted to see just how many people were going abroad, where they we going, what for and just how much they were spending."

India, Hungary and Turkey are currently among the most popular medical tourism spots for British patients.

Popular dental work abroad includes crowns, implants, bridges and veneers.

And last year, around 14,500 people travelled outside the UK for cosmetic surgery.

Last year alone, some 10,000 Brits spent £37million overseas on hip or knee replacements, laser eye surgery and cataract removal.

source: www.dailyrecord.co.uk