Nontuberculous mycobacteria infection risk in medical tourism

The increasing popularity of medical tourism among US citizens has led to the rising incidence of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infections from cosmetic surgery performed in other countries. Clinicians must be aware of these infections and the potential difficulties in treating them. The most common NTM species isolated from cutaneous infections in medical tourists is Mycobacterium abscessus. Because many NTM species are antibiotic resistant, combination therapy is needed to combat skin and soft-tissue NTM infections in patients who had cosmetic procedures performed in foreign countries.