A Plastic Surgeon - Rodrigo Araya, M.D.

Dr. Rodrigo Araya is a board-certified plastic and cosmetic surgeon based at Cima San José Hospital in Escazú, San José, Costa Rica. His private practice, located in Tower 2 of one of Costa Rica's premier JCI-accredited private hospitals, offers a comprehensive range of facial rejuvenation, body contouring, and reconstructive procedures performed in a state-of-the-art hospital setting.

Dr. Araya's practice is built on a philosophy of natural, aesthetically balanced outcomes — helping patients look refreshed and rejuvenated rather than surgically altered. His training and experience across the full spectrum of cosmetic procedures allows him to tailor each surgical plan to the individual patient's anatomy, goals, and lifestyle. Operating from Cima San José Hospital gives his patients access to advanced hospital infrastructure, including anesthesiology services, surgical nursing, recovery care, and emergency backup — a significant safety advantage over clinics operating outside of hospital environments.

Costa Rica has become one of the world's most popular medical tourism destinations for cosmetic surgery, drawing tens of thousands of patients annually from the United States and Canada who seek quality care at dramatically reduced prices. Dr. Araya is among the country's most sought-after plastic surgeons for international patients, combining internationally trained surgical skills with full English-language capability and familiarity with the concerns and expectations of North American patients.

Dr. Araya specializes in a comprehensive range of facial and body cosmetic procedures. His facial procedures include facelift surgery in multiple configurations — standard facelift without forehead or eyelids, facelift with eyelid surgery, facelift with forehead lift, and full facelift combining forehead, cheeks, neck, and eyelid surgery — as well as rhinoplasty (nose surgery), chin augmentation, cheek augmentation, eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) in multiple variants, dermabrasion for skin texture improvement, and hair transplant surgery using micrografts, strip grafts, hair-bearing flaps, and scalp reduction techniques.

Body procedures include breast reduction, breast lift (mastopexy), liposuction of single or multiple areas, tummy tuck (abdominoplasty), and thigh lift. Laser skin resurfacing is available for the full face, forehead, eyelids, lips, and hands — providing non-ablative skin quality improvement as a standalone or complementary procedure. The breadth of this procedure list allows patients to address multiple cosmetic concerns in a single surgical visit to Costa Rica.

Dr. Araya's practice is located within Cima San José Hospital, Tower 2, Floor 2, Office 211, in Escazú — one of Costa Rica's two JCI-accredited private hospitals. Operating within a JCI-accredited facility means patients benefit from hospital-grade surgical suites with advanced monitoring, modern anesthesia systems, certified operating room nurses, intensive care backup, and a blood bank and pharmacy on site.

Laser skin resurfacing technology is available for targeted skin rejuvenation procedures, providing an alternative or complement to surgical facial procedures. The Cima Hospital campus provides a full-service clinical environment beyond the surgical suite itself — including laboratory services, diagnostic imaging, a 24-hour emergency department, and pharmacy — ensuring comprehensive support for the full patient journey from pre-operative assessment through post-operative recovery.

Costa Rica is a premier destination for cosmetic surgery, attracting thousands of patients annually from the USA and Canada who seek procedures at 50 to 70 percent below US prices. Dr. Araya's clinic offers full English-language consultations and surgical care, and works closely with Cima Hospital's International Patient Center — which provides airport coordination, accommodation referrals, translation services, and insurance assistance for visiting patients.

Patients from the United States can reach San José in 3 to 5 hours from major American cities including Miami, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and Atlanta. A facelift that costs $10,000 to $15,000 in the USA may be completed for $3,500 to $6,000 in Costa Rica with comparable surgical quality. Dr. Araya's practice can be reached at (506) 208-8211 or by email at arayamd@a-plastic-surgeon.com for initial consultations and treatment planning inquiries.

Dr. Rodrigo Araya operates from Cima San José Hospital, which holds JCI (Joint Commission International) accreditation — the globally recognized gold standard for hospital quality and patient safety. Operating within a JCI-accredited facility means that Dr. Araya's surgical procedures are performed in an environment that meets rigorous international standards for surgical safety, infection control, anesthesia management, patient identification, and clinical documentation.

Dr. Araya holds board certification in plastic and cosmetic surgery through the appropriate Costa Rican professional body — the Colegio de Médicos y Cirujanos de Costa Rica — and maintains professional standing as a specialist plastic surgeon. His continued practice at Cima Hospital requires adherence to the hospital's own credentialing standards, which are among the most stringent in Central America given the hospital's JCI accreditation status. Patients are encouraged to confirm Dr. Araya's current board certification and review his surgical portfolio during their pre-operative consultation.