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Patients who elect to undergo surgical procedures, including cosmetic surgery for removal of fat, are increasingly seeking care at hospitals and clinics outside the U.S. These authors report an unusual infection seen in “lipotourists.”
In 2004, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) investigated reports of unusual skin infections in patients who had undergone cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic. The CDC identified 20 cases of infection with Mycobacterium abscessus in patients who had undergone abdominoplasty; some patients also had undergone liposuction or breast augmentation or reduction surgery. The authors analyzed details of eight patients who underwent surgery at the same clinic and had related isolates. Symptoms be…