More than 90 Americans have died as a result of cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic
In the Dominican Republic, cosmetic surgery has claimed the lives of ninety-three American citizens between 2009 and 2022, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
More than half of the fatalities happened after 2018, which is indicative of the rising demand for cosmetic surgery performed abroad. Examined were 92% of the fatal instances involving gluteal fat transfer, “in which fat is harvested from the patient and then injected into the buttocks to augment the body silhouette.” 82% of the cases required liposuction. Another popular name for this process is a Brazilian butt lift. The median age of the Americans who passed away was forty, and all but one of them were women.
The majority of the deaths that were looked into had embolisms, or obstructions in the bloodstream brought on by fat accumulation or blood clots. Multiple operations were performed during the same surgery in the majority of the fatal instances, which is consistent with the risk factors for cosmetic surgery outlined by the CDC.
The CDC researchers stated in their paper that “the findings highlight the importance of considering patient and operative risk factors when determining whether to proceed with elective cosmetic surgery.
a significant number of patients who passed away had many procedures performed during the same surgery and were obese, which are risk factors for embolism.
The CDC, along with the Dominican Ministry of Health, launched an inquiry after receiving a request from the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic over the rising number of deaths linked to cosmetic surgery.
Due to the lower costs and shorter wait times abroad compared to the United States, Americans have begun engaging in medical tourism and traveling abroad for medical operations.
Such travel is not exclusive to the Dominican Republic; in fact, the CDC notes that the country is a popular travel destination due to its established tourism business and the fact that some Dominican doctors advertise in the United States.
