Authorities say a woman from the Bronx died during a cosmetic procedure in the Dominican Republic.
Beverly Brignoni, 28, traveled to Santo Domingo last month to have a tummy tuck and liposuction at a clinic that a friend recommended. She arrived on Feb. 19, and officials at the Vista del Jardin Medical Center say she died the following day of a pulmonary embolism.
Brignoni's family won't rest until they have answers. Her boyfriend, Lesley Martinez, offered a heartbreaking description of the last time her saw her: "I was with her right up until she went into the surgery," he told the New York Daily News. "We kissed goodbye, said we loved each other, and they wheeled her away. That was the last time I saw her."
Bernadette Lamboy, her godmother, explained her motivation for the surgery: "She had recently lost a lot of weight and she just wanted some surgery to tighten things up."
The Dominican Republic Health Ministry conducted an investigation of the Vista del Jardin Medical Center and ordered a temporary closure of the operating room due to bacteria and "bio-sanitary regulations" violations. Local authorities are waiting for Brignoni's family to file an official request before they start an official investigation.
With so many questions unanswered, her family intends to do so.
[via Gothamist and New York Daily News]
