Dominican Republic Medical Tourism: What American Patients Should Know

The Dominican Association of Health Tourism (ADTS) says more than 300,000 international patients come to the Dominican Republic every year, worth an estimated $1.3 billion to the country, according to Dominican Today's April 2026 reporting. A lot of them are Americans, and many are Dominican Americans who'd rather recover near family. It's a short flight from Miami or New York, and the prices get people looking. But the CDC has also published at least five reports since 2004 about American patients who came home sick, or didn't come home, after cosmetic surgery there. You should see that record before you book anything.

This guide covers what the country is known for, what those CDC reports actually found, how to check who's operating on you, what tends to get added to a quote, and what to sort out before you fly home.

Is the Dominican Republic a good place to get medical care?

It can be, depending on the procedure and the facility. Santo Domingo and Santiago have large private hospitals, and CEMDOE in Santo Domingo became the country's first JCI-accredited center in 2023. But standards vary widely between hospitals and small private surgical clinics, and the outbreaks the CDC has investigated were traced to private surgical clinics.

Cosmetic surgery is the biggest draw. The Dominican plastic surgery society, Sodocipre, put the 2022 total at about 50,000 patients, roughly 40,000 of them from outside the country (a count that includes Dominicans living abroad), as reported by elDinero in February 2024. Liposuction and tummy tucks lead the list, with breast surgery close behind.

What is JCI accreditation?

JCI accreditation is an international quality certification from Joint Commission International, the global arm of the US organization that accredits American hospitals. Assessors visit in person and check a facility against its published standards for patient care and infection prevention, among others, and the facility has to pass again to keep the status. CEMDOE's 2023 review covered more than a thousand measurable elements, according to Dominican Today. That's a recent change. When CDC investigators looked into the 2013–2014 infection outbreak, their 2016 report said they couldn't identify any Dominican surgical center accredited by an internationally recognized body. We explain what the audit checks in how JCI accreditation works.

What has the CDC found about cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic?

The CDC counted 93 US citizens who died within three weeks of cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic between 2009 and 2022. Deaths averaged 4.1 a year through 2018, then 13.0 a year from 2019 to 2022, with 17 in 2020. The deaths it reviewed in detail were linked to fat or blood clots that traveled to the lungs.

That's from the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of January 2024. All but one of the people who died were women. Among the 29 deaths in 2019 and 2020, a high share of patients had known risk factors for clots, mainly obesity and having several procedures done in the same operation. CBS News, reporting on the CDC findings, noted that fat embolism caused 11 of the deaths, all in patients who'd had liposuction with gluteal fat transfer, the operation better known as a BBL. The count only includes deaths reported to the US Embassy, and nobody tracks how many Americans have surgery there each year, so it can't be turned into a risk rate.

The other recurring problem is infection. Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are relatives of the bacterium that causes tuberculosis, and they live in soil and water. In a surgical wound they cause slow, stubborn infections that ordinary antibiotics don't clear, and the CDC links them to lapses in sterile technique and to non-sterile water.

Sources: CDC MMWR, 2004; CDC Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2016; CDC MMWR, 2018; CDC MMWR, 2024.

Who actually does my surgery in the Dominican Republic?

Get the full names of your surgeon and your anesthesiologist in writing before you pay anything, along with the name and address of the building where you'll be operated on. The 2017 outbreak the CDC investigated involved 14 different surgeons at seven centers, so a clinic's brand or a booking agent's name doesn't tell you enough.

Is the operation in a hospital with an intensive care unit, or in a stand-alone clinic? How many procedures does the surgeon plan to do in one operation, given that the CDC flagged several procedures at once as a risk factor? Will you meet the surgeon before the day of surgery? And can the surgeon show you their specialty certification and their Sodocipre membership? The person you meet should be the person named on your paperwork. If a quote only names "our team," ask again.

JetWell's network doesn't include a clinic in the Dominican Republic today. In JetWell's model you don't pick a clinic off a list. You tell Doc what you want and JetWell matches you with a clinic in its network, and your Care Plan names the clinic doing the work.

How do you get to the Dominican Republic for treatment?

Most Americans fly into Santo Domingo's Las Américas airport (SDQ) for the capital's hospitals, or into Punta Cana (PUJ) on the east coast. Punta Cana handled more than 11 million passengers in 2025, up 9.9% on 2024, according to the airport's own figures.

US citizens need a valid passport. The US State Department says a visa is needed for stays longer than 30 days, and every traveler fills in the free eTicket form at eticket.migracion.gob.do for each entry and each exit. The State Department rates the country Level 2, "exercise increased caution," because of crime.

Sources: Dominican Today, 2026 (ADTS figures); elDinero, 2024 (Sodocipre figures); Dominican Today, 2023 (CEMDOE); US Department of State travel advisory for the Dominican Republic.

Photo by Ruddy Corporan on Unsplash

What does surgery in the Dominican Republic cost, and what gets added?

Most Dominican prices online come from clinic directories and booking sites, so compare written quotes for the same operation.

Cosmetic quotes grow in familiar places. Before you agree to anything, ask whether these are in the written price:

1. The anesthesiologist's fee, if it's listed apart from the surgeon's
2. Pre-op lab work, an EKG and any other tests the surgeon orders when you arrive
3. Each night in the hospital, or in a recovery house if you'll stay in one
4. Compression garments and any post-op massage sessions
5. Medication to take home and follow-up visits before you fly

Having more than one thing done, as in a mommy makeover or liposuction plus something else? Ask for each part priced separately, and whether it's one operation or two.

With JetWell, everything on your Care Plan is price-locked, and anything not on it is extra. Your deposit isn't refundable, so read the Care Plan before you pay it.

What should I sort out before flying home?

The CDC's Yellow Book chapter on care abroad tells US doctors to encourage returning patients to share every surgery and treatment they had on the trip, and warns against putting off care for a suspected problem after you're home.

So bring home your operative notes and a list of every medication with its dose, ideally in English. Line up a US doctor before you leave, and keep a way to message your surgeon. Ask for a written fit-to-fly date before you book the flight back; our guide to flying after cosmetic surgery covers why. Follow-up care for problems after surgery abroad can be expensive and your health plan may not cover it, so check what your insurance covers and look at optional JetCover protection on eligible bookings. Our guide for Americans getting care abroad goes through the rest of the planning.

If the Dominican Republic is one of the places you're weighing, ask Doc about your options and tell it what you'd like done.