At 39, Loyda Hernandez says she had realized her dream of having a big family. But after giving birth to four children, she was looking to do something for herself.
“Your body never goes back to what it was,” Hernandez said.
That’s how she ended up at Xiluet Plastic Surgery Center in Miami, which she’s now suing along with the doctor who performed the surgery. Hernandez claims in her suit that a botched surgery left her more than half a million dollars in aftercare debt — and scarred her emotionally, mentally and physically.
“Everything looked, you know, like it was a great place to go,” he said.
In June 2022, Hernandez traveled from her home in Orlando to Xiluet in Miami to undergo a Brazilian butt lift, or BBL.
According to a lawsuit she filed against Xiluet, during the online recruitment process, she “…noted several times that she was diabetic” and was assured that “…she was a good candidate for the process.”
Hernandez alleges that Xiluet “did not arrange a consultation… (with the doctor) until the day of the surgery…” and the day after the surgery she met with a “…physician’s assistant…” with Xiluet and pointed out “…a major breach in left side of her stomach/hip and one on her back that looked like bruises.”
“They said, ‘Oh, that’s normal,'” Hernandez said. “I didn’t see the doctor that morning and I was sent on the road.”
But as the weeks went by, she says the wounds filled with fluid and smelled bad, and she had to drive back to Miami to see the doctor.
“He pretty much drained the fluid out of there and then he said to my husband, ‘Oh, if it happens again, so you don’t have to drive all the way here for four hours, you can just do it yourself, you order, you know, you order things from Amazon Loyda said. “It’s normal, just drain it.”
Days later, Loyda says she ended up in an emergency room in Orlando where they immediately started giving her antibiotics.
“It was death at this point,” he said. “I had ten different bacteria…two of them were deadly bacteria that could have killed me.”
NBC6 reached out to Xiluet, but never heard back.
The company responded to Hernandez’s lawsuit by denying any wrongdoing and calling her surgeon an independent contractor.
Hernanez’s attorney, Peter Sotolongo, denied that claim, saying the clinic advertised the surgeon as part of their team.
“We have evidence through documentation and some other things … that they supported the doctor being part of their surgeons,” he said.
A quick internet search found a Xiluet ad promoting procedures with the same doctor in April 2022.
“You can now get your BBL for only $4,850 here at Xiluet Plastic Surgery with our amazing doctor Tomasz Kosowski,” a woman can be heard saying in the video.
The doctor is no longer listed on Xiluet’s website, as of the publication of this story.
Earlier this year, Kosowski was charged with murdering a lawyer in an unrelated case. He is awaiting trial. His attorney did not respond to questions about Hernandez’s lawsuit.
Regarding Xiluet, the Florida Department of Health has filed two administrative complaints against the center saying they failed “…to have only licensed physicians perform surgery in the office…” failed “…to use surgeons who have transfer agreements or hospital staff privileges for a licensed hospital within reasonable proximity…” failed to “…maintain compliance with physician training requirements…” and had “…an actively licensed anesthesia provider”.
Although the Florida Department of Health says the center has corrected some of those failures, it is asking the medical board to impose penalties, including revoking the licenses of Xiluet and another of their doctors listed as their designated physician.
As for Hernandez, he says the surgery took an emotional, physical and financial toll.
“Since I’ve been in the hospital all this time, I have about half a million dollars in medical bills. I lost my job. I lost my car,” he said.
He also says he takes a number of medications to deal with the depression, anxiety and panic attacks he’s experienced since being hospitalized. She says she’s telling her story to warn others about the potential consequences of plastic surgery gone wrong.
