Posted August 03, 2010 in Blog, Face Lift, Plastic Surgery in the News, Uncategorized
Aol’s Stylelist ran an article today by Grace Gold entitled “Silicone Injections Kill 22 Year-Old Woman; Experts Say Tragic Trend is Increasing in Hispanic Communities.” I have reprinted the extremely well written and informative article here as it emphasizes the importance of choosing your treating physician most carefully. It can be a life or death decision.
Alejandra Viveros and Guadalupe Viveros’
mug shots from a previous arrest. Photo: Los Angeles Police Department
“The case of a 22 year-old California woman who died this weekend
after receiving silicone injections to the buttocks is just the latest
tragedy in a string of illegal cosmetic surgeries that are dominating
Hispanic and Brazilian communities, experts say.
Mayra Lissette Contreras is thought to have suffered respiratory failure
after alleged “silicone sisters” Guadalupe Viveros and Alejandra
Viveros injected large amounts of what they said was silicone into the
young woman’s buttocks for a fuller shape.
While the sisters claimed to be doctors back in their native country
of Mexico, they didn’t have a license to practice medicine in the
United States. The injections were done in their home, and they
reportedly advertised butt augmentation services in flyers that were
handed out in public parking lots.
The duo had already been under investigation by local law
enforcement after other victims went to police with complaints of being
sickened after receiving silicone injections. They were both arrested on
June 21st, but released after posting a $20,000 bail — and have since
fled.
Neighbors in the Los Angeles town of Sylmar suspect the two have most
likely escaped back to Mexico.
Experts say the red flags were glaringly obvious.
“This poor woman may have been the victim of her own ignorance. Common
sense should tell you that something is not right when you’re having a
medical procedure in some one’s home,” says Beverly Hills plastic
surgeon Dr. Leslie H. Stevens. “A more likely scenario is that the
victim knew what she was doing and unfortunately was willing to take her
chances.”
Silicone is most well-known for its use in breast implants, where
the FDA-approved medical grade material is safely encased in a closed
shell.
Plastic surgeons stress that silicone should never be injected freely
into the body, as it often solidifies into rock-like lumps. It can also
be mistakenly injected into a vein that would allow the silicone to
rapidly travel to and block the lungs, which is what is believed to have
happened to Contreras, pending an autopsy.
There is one FDA-approved exception; a silicone oil called Silikon
1000 has been deemed safe for eye fluid replacement — but is not used
for cosmetic purposes. Some plastic surgeons do use tiny silicone oil
droplets off-label as facial injections to prop up pitted acne scars and
to flatten wrinkles, but former president of The American Society of
Plastic Surgeons Dr. James H. Wells says he doesn’t even believe droplet
injections are safe.
“I think people should be very, very wary of silicone injections of any
kind. There’s still some physicians who think facial injections are
safe, but I’m not convinced,” Dr. Wells tells StyleList.
The evolution of Priscilla Presley’s
Face: Presley in 1999, 2004 and 2009 Photos: Getty Images |
jpistudios.com
In fact, it was bad silicone injections that resulted in Priscilla
Presley’s battle with disfiguring facial lumps and an ensuing lawsuit
the celebrity took out against Daniel Serrano, whom she had hired for
‘injection parties’ with her Beverly Hills celeb friends. The charming
South American ‘doctor’ turned out to have no medical license — and was
found to have injected Presley with the same cheap car-grade silicone
that is used by mechanics.
Recent silicone tragedies have Miss Argentina Solange Magnano
dominated the Latin American and South American communities.
Solange Magnano on the runway in May, 2009. Photo:
EPA/ZUMApress.com
The death of former Miss Argentina Solange Magnano this past
December happened in much the same way as Contreras. Silicone injections
to the 38 year-old’s buttocks caused a blood clot to lodge in the
model’s lungs, and a three-day fight for her life ensued. Magnano
finally succumbed to a pulmonary embolism, leaving behind two eight
year-old twins.
Experts say it’s the cultural desire for a curvier figure that draws
these patients in for buttock procedures.
“Patients tend to be Hispanic and Latin American. This is because a
fuller, more voluptuous “J-Lo” butt is revered in their culture. In the
American culture, a more toned, slender buttock is considered the
ideal,” says New York plastic surgeon Dr. Jennifer Walden.
In poorer communities, there’s less patient education and awareness
about how to safely research a cosmetic surgery procedure, which can
make people especially susceptible to con artists.
“It keeps happening in minority communities here in California. People
prey on their own people. They speak the same language and take
advantage of the patient’s comfort level,” says Dr. Wells.
Indiana plastic surgeon Dr. Barry L. Eppley says there’s even a strategy
at play.
“Cosmetic charlatans like those two sisters set up shop for about six
months until something bad happens, and then they run. The trap is set
up from the beginning. They say the procedure is simple and offer a very
low cost, and then find people who will bypass anything for convenience
and price,” says Eppley.
In a similar rash of cases this past March in New Jersey, six women
were hospitalized for severe reactions after receiving what was billed
as silicone injections to their buttocks. An investigation revealed that
they were actually injected with the same thick cement-like goop
contractors use to caulk bathroom tiles.
All six women received emergency surgery to remove the hardened caulking
from their bodies, as well a strong series of antibiotics. Doctors say
they’re lucky to be alive.
So why do women keep getting talked into silicone injections? Dr. Eppley
says it’s the allure of a permanent result.
“There’s no such thing as a permanent injectable filler — even your own
fat isn’t 100% permanent. Silicone injections are not an FDA-approved
procedure anywhere on the body. The only people doing this aren’t even
on the fringes of the medical world, they’re straight-up black
marketers,” says Dr. Eppley.
As for safe, medically accepted alternatives to enhancing the
buttocks, implants similar to breast implants and fat injections also
known as the “Brazilian Butt Lift” are today’s standard.
Yet outside of Latin American and South American communities, tush
enhancements are not popular.
Butt augmentations are the third least common form of cosmetic surgery
in the United States, with only 3,900 performed in 2009 at a national
average cost of about $4,315, according to the ASPS.
Surgeons cite a high patient dissatisfaction rate due to wear and tear
that comes with continually sitting on the implants. Volume loss over
time from fat injections as they re-absorb into the body also leaves
many patients unhappy.
Yet the desire for other cosmetic procedures like breast augmentation
and botox continues to grow in spite of the recession.
Women in search of a sexier figure or younger complexion need to
always take the time to do their research, says Dr. Eppley.
“Don’t ever put convenience and cost before hiring a fully accredited
surgeon and choosing a procedure that is FDA-approved and well within
the standard level of care. You could pay for it with your life.”
Dr Persky is located in Encino, California but services all of Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley. Including, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Santa Monica, Malibu, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Calabasas, Woodland Hills, Tarzana and Agoura Hills and more.
