A New York mother-of-two has died while she was undergoing plastic surgeryto have implants removed from both of her buttocks.
María Paz Peñaloza, 31, went to amakeshift'clinic' on the first floor of suspect Felipe Hoyos Foronda's Astoria, Queens house on March 28 for the procedure.
But within minutes of being injected withlidocaine, a local anesthetic used to numb specific areas in the body, shesuffered a cardiac arrest.
As Peñaloza was rushed tointensive care unit at The Mount Sinai Hospital, Queens, officials arrested the accused at the John F. Kennedy International Airport while he attempted to flee the country.
However, after spending two weeks trying to stay alive,Peñaloza lost her life on April 11 after doctors took her off life support.
While hospital officials are yet to reveal what kind of injuries she had sustained and the cause of her death, prosecutors from the Queens District Attorney's Office believe it waslidocaine toxicity that led to her death.
Despite being generally safe, lidocaine can be toxic if its administered inappropriately or with large injections in widespread areas.
It can also become toxic if a patient receives large doses of drug through injections in the skin.
María Paz Peñaloza, 31, died on April 11 after she went into cardiac arrest at a makeshift clinic in Queens, New York
Lidocaine toxicity or overdose can affect a person’s central nervous system and can lead to seizures, irregular heart rhythms and in certain cases, respiratory failure or cardiac arrest.
The average toxicity level of lidocaine is 4.5 mg/kg, depending on the body’s absorption rate andsymptoms of poisoning begin to show with five minutes of administration.
After her death, Linney Peñaloza Cabrera, the victim's older sister told the NY Daily News in Spanish:'We never imagined this would happen.
'A friend who went with María called and said she was taken away in an ambulance but she didn't know how bad it was.
'She went there because a friend had already gone there for an operation and recommended him.
'From the time the ambulance came and while she was in the hospital, [doctors] were trying to revive her for two-and-a-half hours.'
Officers have since arrested suspect Felipe Hoyos Forondaat at JFK airport.The makeshift 'clinic' was on the first floor of the accused's Astoria house
Peñaloza was rushed to intensive care unit at The Mount Sinai Hospital, Queens
According to authorities, he was a licensed doctor in Colombia but he did not have a license to perform cosmetic work in the US.
The Queens District Attorney's Office has charged him with second degree and unauthorized exercise of a profession.
However afterPeñaloza's death, his charges may be updated.
During investigation, responding officers found medical devices, syringes, medicines and visible medical furniture at the house - indicating that the accusedmay have performed cosmetic work on other people previously.
A GoFundMe was soon started by the victim's family to raise funds so that her family could travel to New York, where she moved in 2021, to say goodbye.
At the time the fundraising page was set up, they said: 'Doctors have made the decision to disconnect her, without allowing time for her family in Colombia - her parents and her eldest son - to travel to say goodbye and give her the farewell she deserves.
A GoFundMe was soon started by the victim's family to raise funds so that her family could travel to New York, where she moved in 2021, to say goodbye
'We beg that a humanitarian visa be granted to her parents and her eldest son, who today only wish to arrive in time to be with her in her final moments.
'The family has initiated the process with the Colombian embassy and requested an emergency appointment, but time is running out.
'We need your help so that this request is considered by the relevant authorities. In addition, we also request financial support to cover travel costs.
'Every contribution, no matter how small, helps in this painful time.'
