Abstract

The Challenging Treatment of Mycobacterium abscessus After Gluteal Fat Injections in the Dominican Republic: A Rare Pathogen, Becoming a Frequent Problem

Author(s):Brianne Sullivan, Eimon Lee and Grace J. Kim

A 53-year-old woman presented with sepsis from gluteal cellulitis and abscesses one month after undergoing abdominoplasty and “buttock sculpting” in the Dominican Republic. The patient required numerous debridement and drainage procedures, in addition to IV antibiotics for over two weeks before her sepsis could be controlled. Eventually, the rare pathogen Mycobacterium abscessus was identified as the source of her infection. Though uncommon in the United States, non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections are increasingly associated with cosmetic surgery procedures performed in foreign countries. Patients infected with this organism often face a delay in diagnosis, an extended hospital stay, multiple surgical debridement, antimicrobial resistance, prolonged antibiotic course, and poor cosmetic results. Clinicians should consider NTM infection in any patient who presents with a surgical site infection after a cosmetic procedure who is not appropriately responding to conventional therapy.

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