Surge of Black Patients Die After a Brazilian Butt Lift

Some Black Patients LOVE the Brazilian Butt Lift

But the CDC Warns . . .

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has recently released a warning to American citizens about going to the Dominican Republic to have a Brazilian Butt lift surgery. As a primary care physician, I have been asked by some of my patients whether they should go out of the country for cosmetic surgery. I find Black women particularly interested in this surgery. Yet others, find the surgery “anti-Black.” The core of this article is not the surgery, but whether leaving the country to have it, is necessary or safe.

97 died unnecessarily

This new report indicates that 93 Americans died after cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic since 2009. Many of those patients had cosmetic surgery known as the Brazilian Butt lift. Specifically, the surgery makes a woman’s rear end rounder and more prominent.

The surgery involves taking fat from one part of the body and injecting it into another part of the body. Unfortunately, surgeons who have not been properly trained can introduce the fat into blood vessels, and once there, they travel to other places and can cause serious complications.

The United States has some of the best physicians and hospitals in the world, so I don’t see a good reason to leave the country to have any sort of medical care.

Low accountability

Obviously, most people are attracted by the low price of the procedure overseas. Unfortunately, there’s also very low accountability overseas, and they tend to have poor resources when it comes to treating complications. When people die, it is a surgical complication, an infection, for example. Getting easily accessible antibiotics in the US never slows anybody down, but overseas, a simple antibiotic can mean the difference between life and death.

Also, the laws that oversee medical care in the United States do not travel easily to the Dominican Republic. Therefore your recourse after having a complication after one of these surgeries is not very good.

Overall, my recommendation is to stay in the United States when you have any sort of surgery that might have a higher risk for complications. Another suggestion is to do research and find out if the doctor you are seeing overseas has had the training and experience to do what their website says they can do.

Stay in the USA

As with all of my recommendations, it is always best to ask your physician what they think of your plans. They can weigh any other health issues you may have with your perceived benefit of paying a lower price away from the US. In any situation, being Black and having asthma, COPD, hypertension, diabetes, or anything else can greatly increase your risk for a complication after surgery. Sorry but these are the facts.

If you want a Brazilian Butt lift, there is no need to go to Brazil to get one. Watch this interview with a Black plastic surgeon and get all the answers you need.

Stay close to home and do your research first.

If You Have Surgery, Make Sure Your Chemical Core™ is Sound

Too many people also neglect to insure that they are in the best position to heal after surgery. And Black patients have the HIGHEST risk for surgery complications. By making sure your chemical core™ is sound, you can better expect a good healing process. Having the essential vitamins and minerals to heal is critical. Black people tend to have very low vitamin D, C, and zinc which are super important for healing. Leading up to and after surgery, you need to be at your chemical core™ best!

Below is a podcast interview with a Black plastic surgeon and we talk about all of this and more.