A man accused of posing as a plastic surgeon has been indicted on manslaughter charges after a woman he operated on died after a butt implant removal in New York.
Felipe Hoyos-Foronda (38) was arraigned on second-degree manslaughter charges in the death of 31-year-old Maria Penaloza, a mother of two. On Monday, a judge ordered him held without bail.
Officials say Hoyos-Foronda, who had no licence, performed the cosmetic surgery to remove implants from her buttocks in a makeshift clinic at his home.
He is alleged to have given her lidocaine, a local anaesthetic, and saline through a syringe during a procedure to remove the implants, which were causing her pain. Penaloza became lightheaded and Hoyos-Foronda administered an IV and called 911 when she did not improve.
However, reports ABC News, Penaloza went into cardiac arrest and died 14 days later.
Hoyos-Foronda was arrested at the airport. Police said he was trying to flee to Colombia. He allegedly told police he had done the procedure hundreds of times at the makeshift medical office in his apartment and that he had panicked.
Her family is hoping for justice and says the second-degree murder charge is not enough.
Hoyos-Foronda – who advertised the procedure, for which he charged $1 900, on social media – pleaded not guilty and faces up to 15 years in prison.
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