Patient Finds Help After Cosmetic Surgery Results in Rare NTM Infection
Patient Finds Help After Cosmetic Surgery Results in Rare NTM Infection
By the time Gabriella Bonucelli realized something was wrong, she could barely walk. After having two children just ten months apart in 2023, she had decided to give herself a “mommy makeover,” with a full-body liposuction in Scottsdale, Arizona. However, a week after the procedure, her legs felt like they were on fire. Her skin began to erupt with blisters as she experienced overwhelming pain. “It got to the point where I was admitted to a hospital for the whole month of October,” Bonucelli recalled.
Believing she was suffering from an inflammatory condition, Bonucelli’s doctors in Arizona administered steroids during her hospital stay. They didn’t realize they were pouring gasoline on a bonfire. The medications, meant to calm inflammation, were instead feeding a rare, drug-resistant bacteria.
“It grew from my legs to my abdomen, from abdomen to my rib cage, from my rib cage to my spine. And then after that, it just got to the point where it ran rampant everywhere,” said Bonucelli.
With her local doctors baffled, a biopsy was sent to National Jewish Health, where specialists identified a severe Mycobacterium abscessus infection — a type of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) that can infect the skin and soft tissue, especially after procedures that break the skin. NTM can affect the lungs (pulmonary) or other parts of the body (extrapulmonary).
“There’s generally two ways people get extrapulmonary NTM,” according to infectious disease expert Jared J. Eddy, MD, who often treats complex NTM cases. “Either there’s some sort of skin disruption from a surgery, or a wound, or you’re immunocompromised and the infection spreads through your blood to other parts of your body, often from a gastrointestinal or pulmonary source.”
NTM infections are rare, affecting roughly 86,000 people in the U.S. according to the American Lung Association. In recent years, there have been outbreaks associated with cosmetic surgery clinics in South Florida and in Mexico. However, as Dr. Eddy notes, because of many doctors’ unfamiliarity with the disease, plenty of cases are overlooked.
For Bonucelli, the initial misdiagnosis of her NTM created the conditions for the bacteria to spread throughout her body. The steroids doctors had administered had suppressed her immune response, lowering her natural defenses. By the time she received the correct diagnosis after the biopsy was sent to National Jewish Health, she was facing an uphill battle. “I was on antibiotic therapy, and I lost about 50 pounds in one month,” she said.
Eventually, she started working with surgeon Marc Gottlieb, MD, (now retired) and Dr. Eddy to remove the infection. She made the trip to Denver, where Dr. Eddy began conducting more in-depth examinations. “They did about six or seven [MRI] scans at National Jewish Health,” Bonucelli said. “And they saw how deep it was under all the different layers of my tissue.”
Dr. Eddy coordinated with Bonucelli’s surgeon and her local infectious diseases provider Dr. Gerardo Gomez Abundis to remove the affected areas, optimize antibiotics, and stop the NTM from spreading further. The operations were uniquely challenging, involving the extensive removal of skin and soft tissue from almost a third of her body. However, the procedure was a success, and Bonucelli was finally on her way to begin the recovery process. “Between Dr. Eddy and Dr. Gottlieb, I still don’t ever stop thinking about them. Both of them really, honestly saved my life,” said Bonucelli. “Dr. Eddy’s bedside manner was so comforting. He just kept reassuring me that everything was going to be okay. Still to this day, Dr. Eddy and I speak occasionally. He’ll follow up with me if I had a good scan. He definitely cares.”
Having recently presented Bonucelli’s case at a national conference, Dr. Eddy has been stressing the risks of NTM infections from cosmetic surgeries, especially ones performed overseas, but even in the U.S. “In places where they’re not doing proper infection control practices — standard cleaning and sterilization — you’re going to be put at a higher risk of infection,” he said. “I think it’s important for anyone getting a surgery like this to know that it’s at least a possibility, something to look out for, so that it can be treated in the early stages.”
Finally on the other side of intensive treatment and therapy, Bonucelli feels like she’s now headed in a more positive direction, focusing on motherhood while working on her recovery. “I am just grateful to be alive and here for my children,” said Bonucelli.
Published 12/16/25