The death of a patient following a so-called “Brazilian butt lift” was caused by complications resulting from the surgery, according to the autopsy, the Miami Herald reports.
Maribel Cardona, 51, died last July of a lung embolism shortly after the procedure, in which the physician removes fat from the abdomen and injects it into the buttocks. Experts say that such embolisms may occur when the blood vessels deep in the buttocks are pierced during the procedure, causing fat particles to get into the bloodstream.
Dr. Anthony Hasan, a dermatologist, performed the procedure at Vanity Cosmetic Center in Miami, the Herald reported. Hasan was placed on indirect supervision by the Board of Medicine last summer, but that case involved charges of fraud, not malpractice.
The patient, a Walmart cashier from Naples, tried to back out of the surgery, the Herald reported, but went ahead when told that the $4,000 deposit was not refundable.
