Kizzy,
Thanks for the info and encouragement! My fiance vetoed the "out of country" idea, and I recently posted a new thread- I decided to stay very loca actually- San Francisco. Yes, it is more expensive, but my surgeon does free follow up for LIFE for self-pay patients, and travel/hotel, etc are not necessary so I figured this was a pretty good deal.
Good Luck to you- stay in touch so we can see your progress after surgery! I'm so excited for you!