(RNN/KXXV) – A Dallas woman placed on life support after a trip to Mexico for cosmetic surgery is dead.
Laura Avila, a Dallas woman who “gives everyone a reason to smile” according to her sister, Angie Avila, went to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, just across the border from El Paso, late last month to obtain a medical procedure.
WFAA in Dallas reported it was for a nose surgery. According to Angie’s GoFundMe page for her sister, it went wrong.
In the post, she wrote that “Laura suffered a cardiac arrest for four minutes” due to complications from her anesthesia.
Doctors kept her fiancé in the dark for hours. And, when they finally moved her to a hospital, they held her for days while the family tried to get her back into the U.S.
The sister told WFAA “the hospital basically held us hostage” until they paid their bill.
While in Mexico, doctors put Laura into a medically-induced coma to try to prevent brain damage.
But, back in El Paso, the family learned this week that they basically have two options, according to Angie Avila’s GoFundMe post: “To let her go in peace or have her physically here.”
On Nov. 24, the family announced that Laura had passed away at 8:20 a.m.
An April study published in the medical journal “Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery” found that there are significant risks to getting cosmetic surgery abroad. Researchers found that, of a sample of 78 patients between 2010 and 2017, 18 percent were left with serious infections or persistent pain, and another 15 percent had unhealed wounds.
Copyright 2018 Raycom News Network/KXXV. All rights reserved.
