Volume 32, Number 6—June 2026
Dispatch
Adverse Outcomes of Travel-Related Cosmetic Procedures among US Residents, 2014–2024
Table 1
Characteristics of consultations related to travel by US residents for elective cosmetic medical procedures reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014–2024
| Characteristics | No. consultations, N = 21 |
|---|---|
| Location of procedure | |
| International | 17 |
| United States |
4 |
| Setting* | |
| Surgery center or surgery clinic | 14 |
| Med-spa | 1 |
| Unknown |
6 |
| Type of cosmetic procedure† | |
| Liposuction with or without fat transfer | 12 |
| Abdominoplasty | 9 |
| Gluteal augmentation | 7 |
| Breast augmentation | 6 |
| Other cosmetic surgery‡ | 4 |
| Unspecified cosmetic medical procedure |
4 |
| Pathogen, n = 20§ | |
| Nontuberculous mycobacteria | 12 |
| Suspected nontuberculous mycobacteria¶ | 1 |
| Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus | 1 |
| Fusarium solani complex | 1 |
| Carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa | 1 |
| Unknown |
4 |
| Type of infection, n = 20§ | |
| Surgical site infection | 16 |
| Central nervous system infection | 1 |
| Sepsis | 1 |
| Unknown site |
2 |
| Postsurgical procedural intervention, n = 20# | |
| Surgical or procedural treatment** | 7 |
| Other | 5 |
| Antibiotic treatment |
7 |
| Outcomes | |
| Hospitalization | 4 |
| Death | 4 |
| Unknown | 14 |
*Categorization of setting types was based on descriptions relayed by public health jurisdictions and partners and may have variable interpretations in international and domestic locations. †Types of cosmetic medical procedures were not mutually exclusive. ‡Other types of procedures were upper and lower blepharoplasty, facial fat grafting, lip filler, zygoma reduction-plasty, “thread lift,” dimpleplasty, removal of gluteal implants, panniculectomy, and rhytidectomy. §One consultation was excluded from the denominator of this section because investigation indicated patient outcomes were due to fat emboli and unrelated to an infectious etiology. ¶Suspected nontuberculous mycobacterium were defined as growth on acid-fast bacillus culture without mycobacterial species identification. #Surgical or procedural interventions were not mutually exclusive. **Surgical or procedural treatments include incision and drainage, surgical debridement, and therapeutic surgical revisions.