Why is it cheaper for plastic surgery in the Dominican Republic?

It is my understanding that the cost is cheaper in places like the DR or Mexico because the cost of living is cheaper in these locations. Therefore, the cost of running a practice (practice overhead) is cheaper for the surgeon. The cost to rent or own space is cheaper so the operating room fees are lower. Because the cost of living is lower likely personnel are paid less. The surgeon and anesthesiologist don't charge as much for their fee because the cost of living in lower. For example, a plastic surgeon in NYC will have to charge more for a surgery because their cost of living is so much higher. The DR is a 3rd world country. If you have ever been there for vacation it is absolutely beautiful, but the poverty you witness as you drive from the airport to the resort is very sad.  My biggest advice for you is to think about the cost of travel. If you have any complications post op or want to see your PS in post op to make sure you are healing ok, you have to fly back to the DR. Also, I am not sure the regulations for sterility etc. in the operating facilities is held to the same level as it is here in the United States. If price is your main concern, remember sometimes you get what you pay for. 

The only thing that seems to be equivalent in price living in Third World countries is maintaining  a US lifestyle.

The cost of why prices are lower in developing nations as well been described.

I would take advantage of living in a country that has what is perhaps arguably the highest quality medical care in the world.

Considering that this is the longest lasting investment you'll ever make, longer-lasting than any car or home you will ever have, It makes sense to not cut corners on cosmetic surgery.

I can also not over emphasize enough the importance of follow-up care and the fact that complications do happen including serious complications.

Patients who come back to the United  states with complications after medical tourism find themselves abandoned, stranded and in desperate need for follow-up care without anyone to go to.

I have personally taken care of numerous patients with massive complications of come across the border from Mexico.

When I've called their doctors phone calls were not returned. I've heard stories of patients who refuse being admitted to hospital's or are not given blood transfusions unless they can pay cash upfront.

The following article may also shed some insight into the risk of traveling to certain countries for cosmetic surgery.

This is not to say they're not talented doctors in other countries. There certainly are some equally as talented as those in the United States.

Still no one has the same rigors and standards in regards to medical training and certification as the United States.

Dominican authorities have shut down a plastic surgery clinic as theyinvestigate the death of a U.S. woman who traveled to the Caribbeancountry to undergo a liposuction procedure, officials said Sunday.

The prosecutor's office in Santo Domingo said the 23-year-old womantraveled to the Dominican Republic two days before her April 23procedure but did not disclose where she was from in the U.S.

The clinic is run by Dr. Edgar Contreras, who has been the subject ofthree other probes by Dominican investigators over the years. He couldnot be immediately contacted for comment.

The U.S. citizen is the fourth woman and the second American who hasdied so far this year at Dominican plastic surgery clinics. Theyinclude a 35-year-old from Hawaii identified who authorities say diedafter a liposuction procedure and a 24-year-old woman who died from anembolism in February after undergoing surgery to have implants removedfrom her buttocks.

Last year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventionreported that at least 19 women in five states had developed seriousmycobacterial wound infections following cosmetic procedures in theDominican Republic such as liposuction, tummy tucks and breastimplants.

The Caribbean country, like nations such as Thailand, Mexico and CostaRica, has promoted itself as a destination for medical tourism,so-called because people will often tack on a few days at a resortbefore or after undergoing surgery.