Woman Dies After Getting Plastic Surgery in the Dominican Republic

A young woman from New York is dead after complications from plastic surgery she got in the Dominican Republic.

The 28-year-old Bronx woman died after getting a tummy tuck and liposuction at the Vista del Jardin Medical Center in Santo Domingo. Via Gothamist:

Single mom Beverly Brignoni flew to the DR on February 19th to get surgery at a clinic her friends recommended. The next day she was dead from a massive pulmonary embolism, according to officials at the Vista del Jardin Medical Center—but family members are demanding a more thorough investigation.

Her godmother, Bernadette Lamboy told the Daily News she wanted surgery to “tighten things up” after she lost weight.

Plastic surgery tourism is so popular in the Dominican Republic that the U.S. State Department issued a warning about getting medical procedures in the country, which can sometimes cost a third what they cost in the U.S. But the savings often backfire: At least 19 women from the U.S. developed mycobacterial wound infections over the previous 12 months following cosmetic procedures in the Dominican Republic, the Post reports.

Last year, more than half of the cosmetic procedures performed in the Dominican Republic were conducted on foreigners, and it’s nothing new—ten years ago the CDC issued an alarming report warning of postoperative infections in patients undergoing cosmetic surgery procedures in the DR.

According to The New York Post, The Dominican Republic Health Ministry reportedly inspected the clinic and then closed the operating facilities temporarily due to “violations of bio-sanitary regulations.”

“We kissed goodbye, said we loved each other, and they wheeled her away,” said her boyfriend. “That was the last time I saw her.”