Understanding Plastic Surgery Prices in the D.R.
Quick Answer
Public listings often show Dominican Republic plastic surgery priced 30-60% below typical U.S. totals, largely because of lower operating costs and different health-system economics. In essence, “cheaper” isn’t the point, but rather outcomes depend on SODOCIPRE-certified surgeons, proper facilities, realistic procedure plans, and enough recovery time before flying.
What plastic surgery procedures do medical tourists most often seek in the DR?
The Dominican Republic is best known internationally for body contouring and aesthetic surgery, but what patients actually travel for usually falls into a few buckets:
Common aesthetic procedures (high demand)
Global procedure surveys from the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) consistently show liposuction, breast procedures, and body contouring among the most performed cosmetic operations worldwide. (According to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), these categories dominate global aesthetic volumes.)
In the Dominican context, the most commonly marketed procedures for international patients typically include:
- Liposuction / lipo 360 / liposculpture
- Tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) ± muscle repair
- Brazilian butt lift (fat transfer to buttocks)
- Breast augmentation, lift, or reduction
- Mommy makeover combinations (varies widely by safety and patient profile)
- Rhinoplasty and facial procedures (less “DR-known,” still present)
Reconstructive and quality-of-life procedures (often overlooked in “tourism” talk)
Even when patients search “plastic surgery,” motivations are not always purely aesthetic. Plastic surgery can also be about:
- restoring function after massive weight loss
- post-pregnancy abdominal wall repair
- scar revisions or post-trauma repairs
- breast reconstruction after cancer treatment (more common in reconstructive settings)
This matters because the planning, risk, and recovery needs can be very different depending on whether a surgery is primarily aesthetic, reconstructive, or both.