A mother has died while getting a tummy tuck at a medical clinic in the Dominican Republic — just weeks after an Alabama teacher passed away while undergoing surgery at the same facility.
Alexandra Medina, 33, travelled to the Doctor Urenea Arias clinic in Santo Domingo last Wednesday for the medical procedure, which also included liposuction, despite her family’s pleas to stay home, Dominican news outlet El Nuevo Diario reported.
She scheduled an appointment with Dr Felix Almanzar for Thursday morning, but her family became concerned when they didn’t hear from her later in the day, according to the news outlet.
The family later learned Ms Medina suffered fatal complications during the tummy tuck — with her preliminary cause of death ruled an embolism, Noticias Sin reported.
“I’ve lost everything. I feel I’ve lost my soul, like if it was being stripped out of my body,” her mother, Kanny Toro, told Univision.
Ms Medina leaves behind a partner and a 14-year-old son, who lived with her at a New Rochelle home, neighbours said.
“She was very pretty … I can’t believe this. I’m shocked,” a neighbour, who declined to provide his name, told The Post on Tuesday.
Her death comes after an Alabama teacher died last month at the clinic, which was briefly shuttered by the Ministry of Public Health, according to Noticias Sin.
Alicia Renette Williams, 45, suffered blood clots and died from undergoing an elective procedure on June 2 with the same doctor, El Nuevo Diario reported.
The Ministry of Health announced it had opened an investigation into the clinic. It’s not clear whether charges will be filed against Dr Almanzar or other staffers.
Ms Medina’s loved ones launched a Facebook group to call for justice for her.
“(The clinic) convinced my daughter that she was in good hands,” her mother wrote. “My daughter is gone forever.”
The Doctor Urenea Arias clinic didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission