CORAL GABLES, Fla. (WSMV/Gray News ) – A new lawsuit alleges that a Nashville mother of five died after a Florida doctor who was allegedly not allowed to operate on patients performed a butt lift on her in Brazil.
The family filed the lawsuit Monday in Miami-Dade County District Court, according to reports NBC and Miami Herald.
Press release from Stewart Tilghman Fox Bianchi & Cain confirmed they are representing the family in the case.
On June 16, 2021, 33-year-old Erica Russell went to the Seduction Cosmetic Center facility in Coral Gables, Florida.
During the procedure, her doctor, John Sampson, punctured her liver, bladder and intestines, according to the lawsuit.
Samson “repeatedly punctured the abdominal wall and internal organs during the procedure and carelessly injected fat into areas where it should not have,” the law firm said.
A little more than two hours after the procedure began, Russell died when a fatty deposit blocked her blood circulation, causing fatal cardiac arrest, the lawsuit said.
According to Cleveland Clinicthis is a known risk of butt lift surgery in Brazil.
“Your butt contains many blood vessels and nerves. If the cannula [surgical tool] hitting any of these structures during surgery can result in injury, fat embolism, or death,” the Cleveland Clinic website states.
Sampson had reportedly already had six previous operations that day, but lawyers say Sampson should not have been allowed to have surgeries.
The lawsuit said Sampson was listed as Seduction Cosmetic Center’s “designated physician” and was not listed as a surgeon.
Sampson’s responsibilities as a “designated physician” were to ensure the business complied with all applicable health and safety standards, according to the lawsuit, but not to perform surgeries.
In a 2020 letter to the Florida Department of Health, Sampson “specifically stated” that he “does not perform surgeries at defendant Seduction’s facilities,” the lawsuit alleges.
However, Russell’s family said both Sampson and Seduction Cosmetic Center told them he had plastic and cosmetic surgery privileges.
“It is unbelievable that a surgery center could allow this to happen. This doctor should never have performed this surgery, let alone seven surgeries in one day,” said the family’s attorney, Stephen Cain.
According to American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, a Brazilian butt lift is a “specialized fat transfer that increases the size and shape of the buttocks without implants.” Excess fat is removed from the hips, abdomen and lower back with liposuction and then injected into the buttocks.
The American Board of Plastic Surgery has stated that Brazilian butt lifts can be dangerous and cause serious complications that can be life-threatening.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from 2009 to 2022, 93 US citizens died due to cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic. The fatal cases all involved liposuction and 92% of the cases involved a Brazilian butt lift.
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