Keuana’s friend Kanisha Davis, a nurse, told the newspaper that they both scheduled liposuction and tummy tucks for the same day with the same doctor.
Davis recalled being concerned at the time because she was not hooked up to any monitors during the surgery, and she was released immediately. “Me being a nurse, I knew something was off,” she told The San Diego Union-Tribue.
After learning that Keuana had died, Davis returned home to California and began bleeding internally and projectile vomiting. An emergency room visit turned into a two-week hospital stay, where Davis learned she was hemorrhaging inside.
“If I hadn’t gone into the hospital when I did, I would have died,” she said. “Did we know we were taking a risk being in Mexico? Yes. But did we ever, at any time, think that risk would be death? No.”
Neither Báez López nor the clinic responded to multiple requests for comment from The San Diego Union-Tribue. The clinic has not responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
When reached by the outlet, The Asociación Mexicana de Cirugía Plástica, Estética y Reconstructiva, A.C., an association of plastic surgeons, said that Báez was not a member of their organization.
According to state law in Baja California, the Mexican state where Tijuana is located, only certified plastic surgeons are permitted to perform certain cosmetic procedures, including liposuction and tummy tucks.
Authorities in Baja California told the newspaper that they are looking into Keuana’s death.
“We’re working very hard to make sure that doctors who are practicing without the proper credentials are immediately shut down and are investigated by the Attorney General,” Atzimba Villegas, the state director of medical tourism, said in a statement. “It’s essential for the entire industry that patients feel safe and are well cared for and get the results they are looking for.”
Article Appeared @https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/calif-woman-died-2-others-180757649.html