Source: insider.com
A New York mother has become the third American woman to die in the last month after undergoing cosmetic surgery at a clinic in the Dominican Republic.
Alexandra Medina, 33, of New Rochelle, New York, underwent a tummy tuck at the Dr. Ureña Arias clinic in Santo Domingo on July 4. She later died of a pulmonary embolism, Noticias Sin reported.
Medina leaves behind a partner and a 14-year-old son, according to the New York Post.
Her death follows the deaths of two other Americans who underwent cosmetic surgeries at the same clinic.
Alabama woman Alicia Williams, 45, died on June 7, and 26-year-old Sharlim Paulino of New York died on June 20, according to El Nuevo Diario.
On a Facebook page Medina’s family page created, they said she flew to the Dominican Republic to have the same doctor perform her surgery as the other two victims.
But they allege that Dr. Félix Almánzar pulled out at the last minute and had another doctor take over because he was “scared” after the deaths of the two other patients.
Medina’s sister, Maxine David, told CBS New York that doctors in the US refused to perform the procedure unless she lost some weight first, but that Almánzar said it wasn’t an issue.
Her family said they warned her not to go through with the procedure after he asked for the full bill up front.
“They are criminals,” Medina’s mother, Kanny Toro, said in a videoposted on the Facebook page. “You don’t like your fat? Go to the gym. Workout. Sacrifice some food. Don’t do any body procedures on you because there’s always a risk … I urge you, I beg you, don’t do this.”
“It’s a dark lucrative business,” Toro added. “That’s all they want is money. They don’t care about lives.”
On Monday, officials in the Dominican Republic announced that the clinic had been closed while they investigate the deaths.
They said the clinic had only recently reopened after it was previously shuttered for suspected irregularities, Noticias Sin reported.