Deaths in the Dominican Republic: the third American of the month dies during a plastic surgery operation in the Dominican Republic

A mother from New Rochelle, New York, died while she was undergoing plastic surgery in the Dominican Republic, reports CBS New York. She is the third American to die in a month during an aesthetic operation in the Caribbean nation.

According to her sister, Maxine David, Alexandra Medina was unhappy with her appearance and interviewed American doctors about liposuction. However, she apparently had to lose weight before she had surgery.

His sister said that Medina contacted a Dominican doctor via Facebook, who said that the operation would not be a problem. "This doctor said," No problem. We can do it. We can do it. We are dealing with larger women, so come here. We will do it. "And it was obviously also cheaper," David said.

Alexandra Medina seen on an undated photo.

CBS New York

Friday, during liposuction in a clinic in Santo Domingo, Medina died on the operating table, apparently from a blood clot.

The Dominican Minister of Health has apparently told David that a full review would take place, but she fears that they are not hiding it.

"The women go there for these surgeries, these elective surgeries, and do not come out alive," David said.

"There are reasonable facilities in Europe, South America, etc., but they are generally subject to the same criteria that we have here," said Dr. Henry Spinelli, a plastic surgeon in Manhattan, at CBS New York. "Choosing indifferently a place on the basis of finances is a serious mistake. "

In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning on the dangers of "medical tourism" after at least 18 East Coast women were infected with disfiguring bacteria following plastic surgery procedures in the Dominican Republic.

David said she would remember her sister as a "wise, intelligent, dynamic and passionate" woman whose expensive surgical procedures have cost a lot of money.