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Volume 32, Number 6—June 2026

Dispatch

Adverse Outcomes of Travel-Related Cosmetic Procedures among US Residents, 2014–2024

Kiara McNamaraComments to Author , Adam Rowh, Rhett Stoney, and Kiran M. Perkins
Author affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Main Article

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.

Main Article

Page created: April 17, 2026
Page updated: June 02, 2026
Page reviewed: June 02, 2026
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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