A 31-year-old underwent surgery to remove her butt implants, but just minutes later suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away two weeks later. Her family have spoken out and revealed a devastating detail about the tragedy
A mum of two has tragically died after a man who allegedly posed as a plastic surgeon on TikTok attempted to remove her butt implants in his home.
María Paz Peñaloza, 31, went to have her implants removed on March 28, at Felipe Hoyos-Foronda’s so-called liposuction clinic. Prosecutors allege that during the procedure, Hoyos-Foronda, who claimed to be a certified doctor from Colombia, administered lidocaine to Penaloza through a syringe.
Within minutes of being injected with the local anaesthetic to numb the area, María suffered a cardiac arrest, according to a complaint filed in Queens Criminal Court. The mum, from New York, who has a three-year-old son and a baby, was rushed to intensive care at The Mount Sinai Hospital, where she was listed in critical condition.
Court documents show that she was later declared brain-dead, and on April 11, two weeks after the procedure, María died. Further details on her medical condition and the cause of her death are yet to be confirmed by officials. However, prosecutors from the Queens District Attorney’s Office believe it was lidocaine toxicity that could have caused her tragic death.
Lidocaine toxicity is the most common local anaesthetic used in medical practice, according to the National Library of Medicine. It is typically safe to use, but when administered inappropriately or with large injections in extensive areas, it can be toxic. If a patient is given large doses of the drug through injections in the skin, this can also become toxic, which can be fatal.
Lidocaine toxicity or overdose can impact a patient’s central nervous system, and it can lead to seizures, irregular heart rhythms and in some cases, respiratory failure or cardiac arrest. Symptoms of toxicity can appear within minutes of administration.
Police said that Felipe Hoyos-Foronda, 38, was apprehended last month when he allegedly tried to make an escape to Colombia. The criminal complaint from the Queens District Attorney’s Office states that Hoyos-Foronda performed the surgery “without a license to do so and while not in a medical facility” on that fateful day in March.
Following María’s devastating death, her older sister, Linney Peñaloza Cabrera, 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.”
Linney then went on to make a heartbreaking claim: “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.”
A GoFundMe was set up by María’s family to raise funds so they could travel to New York to say goodbye. The 31 year old had moved there in 2021. At the time the fundraising page was set up, they claimed: “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.
“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.”
The Mirror has reached out The Mount Sinai Hospital for comment.
