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Jan 26, 2024 · Jan. 26, 2024, 11:07 AM PST. By Emi Tuyetnhi Tran. Ninety-three U.S. citizens have died as a result of cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic from 2009 to 2022, according to a report...
Jan 26, 2024 · 93 U.S. Deaths in the D.R. After Plastic Surgery, CDC Says. Between 1 and 17 deaths per year were recorded from 2009-2022, with a peak of 17 in 2020. More than 90 Americans died between 2009 and 2022, within three weeks of undergoing cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic, U.S. health officials said Thursday.
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Jan 25, 2024 · Updated 12:06 PM PDT, January 25, 2024. NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials say 93 Americans have died after cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic since 2009, with many of the recent deaths involving a procedure known as a Brazilian butt lift.
Jan 26, 2024 · Jan. 26, 2024, at 7:52 a.m. By Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter. HealthDay. FRIDAY, Jan. 26, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Too many American tourists looking for cheap cosmetic surgeries alongside...
- Abstract
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Although infections resulting from cosmetic surgery performed outside the United States have been regularly reported, deaths have rarely been identified. During 2009–2022, 93 U.S. citizens died after receiving cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic. The number of deaths increased from a mean of 4.1 per year during 2009–2018 to a mean of 13.0 du...
Traveling to another country to receive medical care (medical tourism), including travel related to cosmetic surgery, is increasingly common among U.S. residents because the cost is lower and wait times for procedures are shorter than in the United States (1). The Dominican Republic is popular for medical tourism because it is close to the United States, has an existing tourism infrastructure, and some doctors from the Dominican Republic advertise in the United States. Since 2003, CDC has documented adverse events occurring in U.S. citizens after cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic (2). Most reports of adverse events after medical tourism for cosmetic surgery have cited infections; deaths have rarely been reported (1).
Since 2009, the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic has recorded cosmetic surgery–associated deaths among U.S. citizens. Notices of deaths are obtained from a variety of sources including families, funeral homes, and the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Forenses (National Institute of Forensic Sciences), which conducts autopsies on all foreign citizens who die within the Dominican Republic. During 2009–2018, a mean of 4.1 deaths in U.S. citizens who had received cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic occurred each year (range = 1–8 deaths); however, the number of cosmetic surgery–associated deaths increased to 12 in 2019 and 17 in 2020. Because of this increase, the U.S. Embassy contacted CDC. In collaboration with the Dominican Republic Ministry of Health (MOH), CDC launched an investigation to identify the etiology and epidemiology of and preventable risk factors for death among U.S. citizens who underwent cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic.
A case was defined as a death occurring in a U.S. citizen who had received cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic within the preceding 3 weeks and who died in the Dominican Republic during 2009–2022.† Cosmetic surgical procedures were defined as all procedures falling under the American Society of Plastic Surgeons’ designations as cosmetic surg...
Patient Characteristics
Medical records were available for 24 (83%) of the 29 deaths that occurred during 2019–2020, including 10 in 2019 and 14 in 2020 (Table). All 24 deaths occurred in women; the mean age was 41 years (range = 26–61 years), and the mean body mass index (BMI) was 32 kg/m2 (range = 24–44 kg/m2); in 22 (92%) cases, comorbid conditions associated with increased risk for venous thromboembolism were reported. Among 23 decedents with information on BMI available, 22 (96%) had overweight or obesity,¶ two of 24 (8%) reported diabetes mellitus, three (13%) reported current tobacco use, and two (8%) reported current use of oral contraceptives. No other patient-specific risk factors for venous thromboembolism were identified. A preoperative evaluation by a cardiologist was documented for 18 (75%) of the 24 decedents and by a pulmonologist for 11 (46%).
Procedures
Liposuction was performed in all 24 fatal cases (100%), gluteal fat transfer in 22 (92%), abdominoplasty in 14 (58%), and breast augmentation in 11 (46%). A mean of three procedures (range = two to four) were performed for each decedent during surgery. In 14 (58%) cases, death occurred within 24 hours of surgery; the mean interval from procedure to death was 2.8 days (range = 0–18 days). Nine surgical clinics were linked to the deaths; two clinics were linked to two or more deaths.
Cause of Death
Autopsy reports were available for 20 (83%) cases with medical records; all autopsy-confirmed deaths were attributed to intraoperative and postoperative complications. Fat embolism was the cause of death in 11 (55%) of 20 cases and pulmonary venous thromboembolism in seven (35%).
A total of 93 U.S. citizens were reported to have died in the Dominican Republic during 2009–2022 soon after receiving cosmetic surgery. Medical records were available for 24 of 29 decedents during 2019–2020, most of whom were young to middle-aged women. Among the 20 fatalities during 2019–2020 with an autopsy report available for review, 18 (90%) ...
1.McAuliffe PB, Muss TEL, Desai AA, Talwar AA, Broach RB, Fischer JP. Complications of aesthetic surgical tourism treated in the USA: a systematic review. Aesthetic Plast Surg 2023;47:455–64. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-022-03041-z PMID:36315261
2.CDC. Brief report: nontuberculous mycobacterial infections after cosmetic surgery—Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 2003–2004. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2004;53:509. PMID:15201844
3.American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Cosmetic procedures: list of procedures. Arlington Heights, IL: American Society of Plastic Surgeons; 2024. https://www.plasticsurgery.org/cosmetic-procedures
4.O’Neill RC, Abu-Ghname A, Davis MJ, Chamata E, Rammos CK, Winocour SJ. The role of fat grafting in buttock augmentation. Semin Plast Surg 2020;34:38–46. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0039-3401038 PMID:32071578
5.Pública S. Resolución No. 000006 del 26/06/2019 de carácter transitorio que pone en vigencia una serie de medidas para garantizar la seguridad del paciente en cirugías plásticas de tipo estético. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: Gobierno de la República Dominicana, Salud Pública; 2019. https://repositorio.msp.gob.do/handle/123456789/1472
6.Winocour J, Gupta V, Kaoutzanis C, et al. Venous thromboembolism in the cosmetic patient: analysis of 129,007 patients. Aesthet Surg J 2017;37:337–49. https://doi.org/10.1093/asj/sjw173 PMID:28207041
Jan 25, 2024 · U.S. health officials say 93 Americans have died after cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic since 2009, with many of the recent deaths involving a procedure known as a Brazilian...
Jan 25, 2024 · There were 93 deaths among U.S. residents who traveled to the Dominican Republic (D.R.) for cosmetic surgery from 2009 through 2022, according to findings in Morbidity and Mortality...
