By MIKE STOBBE (AP Medical Writer)
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.
The surgery has grown in popularity recently and has led to deaths in other countries, including the US. A report issued Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could not say how common those deaths are or whether they are more common in the Dominican Republic.
The report suggests steps medical tourists should consider before traveling to complete their work.
“Find out who is doing your operation, the qualifications of the person doing your operation and whether the facility is able to do the surgery and whether they are able to provide adequate post-operative care – which is vital,” he said . Dr. Matthew Hudson, the first author of the study.
A Brazilian butt lift involves fat injection. The report detailed about two dozen of the deaths, and most were the result of fat or blood clots entering the lungs or bloodstream.
Complications from cosmetic surgery are not unique to the Dominican Republic. Reports of deaths following cosmetic surgery have repeatedly surfaced in the United States, perhaps most frequently in Florida. The CDC on Thursday issued a separate report on 15 cases of bacterial infections in women who went to a cosmetic surgery center in Florida in 2022.
Sporadic reports have also come from Mexico, including last year when patients in the US contracted fungal meningitis after cosmetic procedures in the border city of Matamoros. Two clinics were closed and twelve deaths were reported.
The Dominican Republic is known as a vacation-friendly island, and some doctors advertise there in the US, offering breast implants, liposuction and other procedures at lower prices. After the increase in deaths in the US in 2019 and 2020, the US Embassy contacted the CDC, which conducted an investigation together with the Ministry of Health of the Dominican Republic.
An estimated 93 deaths of American citizens related to cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic from 2009 to 2022, or an average of about seven per year. All but one were women. More than half of the deaths have occurred since 2019, which coincides with the growing popularity of Brazilian butt lifts. In the US, nearly 29,000 of these procedures were performed in 2022, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
The procedure usually involves liposuction of fat from the hips, waist, thighs or other areas. The fat is then injected into the buttocks to change the shape or size. Risks include fat that is injected too deeply, making its way into the bloodstream and blocking major arteries or veins.
Autopsy records show that was the cause of death for 11 of the 20 deaths, said Hudson, who is now at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
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