A South Florida teen is fighting for her life after undergoing a breast augmentation procedure from medical professionals with questionable credentials.
Linda Perez, 18, was in surgery at the Coral Gables Cosmetic Center Monday morning when something went wrong and she was transported to a nearby intensive care unit where she remains in a coma, according to NBC 6.
The family told the news station that the center has not provided any information as to what caused their daughter, who has a 3-year-old, to suffer brain damage. "What they gave me was my daughter as a vegetable," mother Mariela Diaz said.
CBS Miami reports that the anesthesiologist Dr. Mario Alberto Diaz served time in federal prison in 2006 for illegally dispensing at least 53,000 doses of pain pills over the Internet, and had his Florida medical license suspended for a year.
Dr. Jacob Freiman performed the surgery, according to NBC 6.
The Coral Gables Cosmetic Center is not located in the Gables as its name suggests but in a building on 27th Avenue in Miami, right above a pet grooming salon.
The center released a statement via their attorney Kubs Lalchandani stating that the establishment “is committed to upholding the highest standards of medical care and patient safety. … For privacy reasons, [the center] cannot comment on any medical issues related to…patients.”
South Florida has been called the "bargain basement of plastic surgery" after years of procedures that have resulted in death or injury.
Back in June, another South Florida woman died after receiving butt filler injections at a West Miami-Dade strip mall beauty clinic.
CORRECTION: Citing a report from NBC6, this article incorrectly stated that Dr. Freiman was not a board-certified plastic surgeon and that Dr. Diaz's license was suspended for just 6 months. In fact, Dr. Freiman is board-certified and Dr. Diaz's license was suspended for a year.
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