Updated
Updated · Daily Star · Jun 23
Paula Beltrán Sandoval Dies 70 Minutes Into £8,335 Filler-Removal Surgery in Medellín
Updated
Updated · Daily Star · Jun 23

Paula Beltrán Sandoval Dies 70 Minutes Into £8,335 Filler-Removal Surgery in Medellín

3 articles · Updated · Daily Star · Jun 23

Summary

  • Paula Andrea Beltrán Sandoval, 41, died on June 18 after suffering a cardiorespiratory arrest during surgery to remove buttock biopolymer fillers at a Medellín clinic.
  • Doctors used advanced resuscitation measures and a defibrillator for more than 40 minutes, but she was pronounced dead in the operating room about 70 minutes into the procedure.
  • The nursing assistant had traveled from New York for the operation after health complications from earlier injections; the procedure had been booked weeks ahead and cost about COP 38 million, or £8,335.
  • Colombian authorities have opened an investigation, with forensic officials preparing a post-mortem and health inspectors reviewing the clinic's records, licenses and staff credentials.
  • The case has renewed scrutiny of biopolymer cosmetic injections, which are banned in Colombia because of the health risks tied to the substances.

Insights

Did toxic fillers trigger a fatal embolism, or did a different medical error lead to the US nurse's death on the operating table?
A US nurse died in a Colombian mall clinic; will the investigation expose a rogue surgeon or a nationally tolerated killer industry?
As Colombia's cosmetic surgery death toll rises, how can medical tourists spot a certified clinic before it becomes a crime scene?