An 18-year-old girl is in a coma after complications during breast augmentation surgery.
Linda Perez's family was told she had heart and brain damage following the procedure, but family members said they were not given an explanation for the complications.
"What they gave me was my daughter as a vegetable," mother Mariela Diaz said.
Perez, the mother of a 3-year-old, had the procedure Monday at the Coral Gables Cosmetic Center. At some point during the surgery, she ended up in critical condition and was taken to Mercy Hospital where she remains.
Father Fernando Izquierdo said the family understands that anything can go wrong during an operation, but he and his wife are outraged that they still do not know the cause of their daughter's coma.
They said the doctors responsible are Dr. Jacob Freiman, who performed the surgery, and Dr. Mario Alberto Diaz, the anesthesiologist.
Court records show Diaz was on probation after serving time in federal prison for illegaly dispensing at least 53,000 doses of pain pills over the internet. His license was suspended for a year following the arrest.
Freiman has a clean record, and the Florida Department of Health website shows that he is a board-certified plastic surgeon.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Ms. Perez during this difficult time. We are unable to comment on any medical care provided to Ms. Perez because of patient privacy laws," the law firm representing Freiman said in a statement.
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The man who drove Perez to get the procedure did not want to be identified, but he told NBC 6 he started asking the doctors questions when he saw Perez unconscious, being wheeled into an ambulance.
"He told me that everything was ok, that it was a normal process," the man said.
Kubs Lalchandani, an attorney at the Coral Gables Cosmetic Center, issued the following statement:
"We at Coral Gables Cosmetic Center are committed to upholding the highest standard of medical care and patient safety. For privacy reasons we cannot comment on any medical issues related to its patients."
Perez's family meanwhile, is waiting for a miracle.
"It would be a miracle from God if they saved her," Diaz said.
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