Beauty Queen Died During Liposuction Procedure She Won As Prize

Catherine Cando, a 19-year-old Ecuadorian model who was crowned the Queen of Durán last fall, died during a liposuction surgery that she won with her title. She was studying medicine at the Catholic University of Santiago de Guayaquil.

According to her brother (h/t NYDN), Cando initially turned down the surgery, but eventually caved under pressure from a surgeon. The doctors who performed the operation have been arrested, and an investigation into the cause of death is underway.

Plastic surgery is immensely popular in Latin America, especially in countries like Colombia and Brazil. The DailyMail notes that Cando’s death follows that of Brazilian model Pamela Nascimento, 27, who died during a botched liposuction surgery in 2011; more recently, Andressa Urach, 27, runner-up in the 2012 Miss Bumbum competition, wound up in intensive care after attempting to remove the massive amounts of chemical fillers she’d injected into her thighs.