Cosmetic procedure kills 2nd woman this month in Tijuana

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — A second woman has died from complications related to cosmetic surgery this month in Tijuana, Mexican media reported.

A 36-year-old woman died Wednesday after undergoing cosmetic surgery at the private Diagnosis Hospital, which had its license suspended and was under review, El Sol De Tijuana reported Friday.

Erwin Areizaga, head of Baja California’s Protection Against Health Risks Commission, said Dr. Alexsander Llamas, the hospital administrator, could not provide proof of license, which the commission has previously confiscated.

“Although the clinic has a license, the verification will continue in subsequent days to review in detail all aspects of the hospital, such as clinical records, maintenance logs of surgical equipment, in addition to documents that accredit medical personnel and of nursing,” the agency said in a news release.

It is unclear whether Llamas performed the surgery.

Areizaga said inspectors visited the establishment on Wednesday and that Llamas was the one who received them and took care of them as head of the clinic.

Areizaga then said prosecutors mentioned that they couldn’t find Llamas, but Areizaga referred any questions about the doctor’s whereabouts to the Baja California State Attorney General’s Office.

The wife of a Guatemalan diplomat died on July 4 after undergoing a cosmetic procedure in Tijuana.

On July 4, María José Chacón, 38, was rushed by ambulance to Tijuana’s Red Cross Hospital, where doctors said she died of organ failure following a cosmetic procedure on June 24 at Hospital Jerusalem.

She was the wife of Henry Giovanni Ortiz, the Guatemalan consul general in Denver.

The person who performed the cosmetic procedure on Chacon did not have a surgical license, Areizaga said.

“After the inspection, it was determined there was no medical accreditation for this person pretending to be a doctor at this establishment,” Areizaga said last week. “Investigators discovered the doctor responsible for the clinic had died earlier, and that’s why this institution did not have a license.”

According to the reports, Areizaga says staff at the Hospital Jerusalem ignored a state order to close but continued performing medical and surgical procedures. The facility reportedly was also running an illegal pharmacy on site.

He stated the hospital had been shut down and sealed off, but staff members allegedly removed seals on doors and admitted more patients.

Baja California Gov. Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda has said she will push a bill in the state congress to “avoid these types of charlatans.”

“All patients who seek a surgical procedure need to have assurances they will be cared for by first-level doctors in Baja California institutions,” the governor said.