The Medical Examiner says a woman died due to a fat embolism after undergoing a Brazilian Butt Lift procedure at a Miami-Dade plastic surgery clinic last week.
The patient, 40-year-old Kizzy London, traveled from her home in Louisiana to Miami to undergo the procedure last Thursday. London’s sister said she found Jolie Plastic Surgery online and chose the clinic due to its affordable prices.
The mother of three went into cardiac arrest toward the end of her procedure, according to a clinic spokesperson. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded and rushed her to Kendall Regional Medical Center, where she later died.
A fat embolism occurs when a piece of fat gets into the blood stream, travels to the lungs and causes a patient to stop breathing.
The NBC 6 Investigators have uncovered the deaths of 13 women after plastic surgery since 2010. Most of those deaths involved Brazilian Butt Lifts. The reporting sparked a worldwide study and caused a taskforce to urge doctors to use their instruments closer to the surface of the skin.
"It’s terrible, it’s Groundhogs Day," said Dr. Pat Pazmino of the Miami Society of Plastic Surgeons. "We continue to have these deaths in Miami and it’s a tragedy."
In a statement, a spokesperson for Jolie Plastic Surgery said in part "Cosmetic surgeries, like all surgeries, carry some degree of risk for pain, bleeding or other complications; we take great precautions in running numerous exams to assure the safety of the patients. All standard pre-operative procedures were administered."
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The doctor who performed London’s surgery is Dr. Arnaldo Valls. The spokesperson called him "a caring and skilled surgeon with over 40 years of medical experience."
The statement went on to say "with thousands of surgeries under his surgical expertise, Dr. Valls has kept a clean record of no loses. The incident has impacted him greatly and he sends prayers to the loved ones of the patient."
