CDC: More American women dying after Dominican Republic cosmetic surgery

Doug Cunningham
·2 min read
UPI
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report Thursday said more American women are dying from complications of cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic. File Photo by James Gathany/CDC

Jan. 25 (UPI) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that more American women are dying after undergoing cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic.

"A total of 93 cosmetic surgery-related deaths of U.S. citizens in the Dominican Republic occurred during 2009-22; all but one occurred in women," the CDC said in a report.

Between 2019 and 2020, liposuction was among the procedures done in at least 24 of the 29 deaths.

The CDC said obesity and having multiple procedures done in one operation are major risk factors.

"A total of 93 U.S. citizens were reported to have died in the Dominican Republic during 2009-22 soon after receiving cosmetic surgery," the CDC said. "The number of deaths after cosmetic surgery among U.S. citizens in the Dominican Republic increased from a mean of 4.1 per year during 2009-18 to a mean of 13 during 2019-22, with a peak of 17 in 2020."

The CDC said a large proportion of people who died had personal (92%) or procedural (100%) risk factors for perioperative embolism. And among deaths caused "by fat emboli, all patients had undergone liposuction and gluteal fat transfer."

A review of the 29 deaths during 2019 to 2020 revealed the deaths were associated with fat or venous thromboembolism, the CDC said.

A high proportion of patients who died had risk factors for embolism. Those include obesity and having multiple procedures formed in the same operation.

"These risk factors might have been mitigated or prevented with improved surgical protocols and postoperative medical care, including prophylactic measures against venous thromboembolism," the CDC said.

The health agency advised Americans seeking plastic surgery outside the United States to consult with their health providers about the risks.

Infections, the CDC said, are common in Dominican Republic surgeries that U.S residents are increasingly seeking there. Deaths are more rare.

Traveling to other countries for cosmetic surgery is increasingly common due to the lower costs and shorter wait times.

The CDC said that when more Americans began dying after those cosmetic procedures in the Dominican Republic in 2019 and 2020, the U.S. Embassy contacted CDC.

In collaboration with the Dominican Republic Ministry of Health, the CDC launched an investigation.

The agency has warned about Dominican Republic plastic surgery risks for years. In 2016, at least 18 American women were infected during the surgeries with mycobacteria, a disfiguring and difficult bacteria to treat.