A 31-year-old woman has lost her life after a man allegedly posing as a plastic surgeon on TikTok attempted to remove her butt implants at his New York home.
María Peñaloza, from Queens, went into cardiac arrest after a man posing as a plastic surgeon tried to remove the implants, according to court documents.
The man, Felipe Hoyos-Foronda, allegedly administered lidocaine to Peñaloza via a syringe "without a license to do so and while not in a medical facility" on March 28, a criminal complaint from the Queens District Attorney's Office reads.
Highlights
- María Peñaloza, from Queens, New York, lost her life after a man posing as a plastic surgeon attempted to remove her butt implants.
- Felipe Hoyos-Foronda was arrested while trying to flee the country and has been charged with second-degree assault.
- He administered the anesthetic lidocaine to the 31-year-old woman, causing her to go into cardiac arrest.
After going into cardiac arrest, Peñaloza was taken to Astoria General Hospital, where she was intubated.
Image credits: WavebreakMediaMicro / stock.adobe (not the actual photo)
The doctor treating the victim stated that she had "no brain activity" and exhibited signs of "lidocaine toxicity." The diagnosis indicated that she was "not likely to survive."
Lidocaine topical jelly or ointment is used on different parts of the body to cause numbness or loss of feeling, as per the Mayo Clinic.
Image credits: Anna Shvets / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Hoyos-Foronda, aged 38, was arrested last month at the airport as he was trying to flee to Colombia, ABC News reported.
He was charged with second-degree assault and practicing without a license.
He is currently in prison at Otis Bantum Correctional Center in East Elmhurst, New York.
Felipe Hoyos-Foronda has been charged with second-degree assault and practicing without a license
Image credits: ABC 7 Chicago / YouTube
Image credits: New York Police Department
Police are looking for other possible victims of the fake surgeon. As the investigation is ongoing, Hoyos-Foronda's charges may be upgraded.
"Whenever circumstances change in a case, we re-examine the charges," the DA's office stated.
"This remains an active and ongoing investigation, and we cannot provide further comment."
The woman went to Hoyos-Foronda's New York home, where he administered the local anesthetic lidocaine
Image credits: ABC 7 Chicago / YouTube
Image credits: True Crime Society / Facebook
Hoyos-Foronda's next court appearance is scheduled for April 28.
It comes after Hayley Dowell, a 38-year-old woman from Hampshire, England, lost her life following a botched Brazilian butt lift (BBL) surgery in Turkey, where the surgeon left midway through the operation.
A BBL is a cosmetic procedure that involves removing fat from elsewhere on the body and injecting it into the buttocks.
Hours after the surgery, Dowell suffered a fatal embolism, a blockage in a blood vessel caused by a foreign substance traveling through the bloodstream.
The case highlights the dangers of unqualified individuals promoting cosmetic procedures on social media
Image credits: LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS / stock.adobe (not the actual photo)
Her family claimed that she had not consented to one of the three cosmetic operations performed at the BHT Clinic, which included a liposuction, tummy tuck, and BBL.
Dowel's husband said the surgeon was "one of the [top five] surgeons in Turkey" and that the clinic did not provide the victim with enough information about the risks of the procedures.
According to the husband, the surgeon left the operation room, leaving the anesthetist unsupervised.
"It should have been a six-hour operation, but it wound down to one hour 45 [minutes]," he alleged during the court session.
"The surgeon left halfway through the operation and left the anesthetist to do the job. You can't do both at the same time."
Last September, "Lip King" Jordan Parke was arrested in connection with the passing of Alice Webb after a botched BBL surgery
Image credits: E! Entertainment / YouTube
In January 2024, Demi Agoglia, a 26-year-old mother from Salford, England, passed away from a microscopic fat embolism a day after undergoing a BBL surgery at the Turkish clinic Comfort Zone.
Following the operation, Agolia started experiencing "extreme discomfort" and began shaking and feeling cold.
The coroner in charge of the case stated there was "no proper pre-operative care and advice, and no proper post-operative care.
"The care in total fell well below the standard expected of this type of treatment, and the lack of care contributed significantly to Demi's de*th," he said.
Hayley Dowell, a 38-year-old woman from England, lost her life following a botched Brazilian butt lift surgery in Turkey
Image credits: Neil Dowell / Facebook
The coroner stated that the nurses working at Comfort Zone were not properly qualified. When Agoglia complained of chest tightness after the operation, they checked her blood pressure but failed to examine the surgical site or monitor her heart rate and pulse.
She was later taken to the hospital, but doctors were unable to revive her.
Last September, "Lip King" beautician Jordan Parke was arrested in connection with the passing of Alice Webb, a 33-year-old mom of five who lost her life at the hospital after undergoing a liquid BBL in the UK.
Unlike surgical BBLs, liquid ones consist of injections—usually dermal fillers made up of hyaluronic acid—that add volume to the buttocks.
Parke's social media bio reportedly described him as a "BBL and body filler specialist."
Demi Agoglia, a 26-year-old mother from England, passed away from a microscopic fat embolism a day after undergoing a BBL surgery at a Turkish clinic
Image credits: Beckie New / Facebook
Gloucestershire police said Webb had undergone a "suspected cosmetic procedure" before falling ill.
"Liquid BBL procedures are a crisis waiting to happen," Ashton Collins, director of Save Face, told the BBC.
"They are advertised on social media as 'risk-free,' 'cheaper' alternatives to the surgical counterpart, and that could not be further from the truth."
Brazilian butt lift surgery has been the fastest-growing aesthetic surgical procedure over the past decade, a 2023 study published in the National Library of Medicine found.
According to the study, the surgery carries the highest mortality rate of any aesthetic surgical procedure.
"It's tragic that this young woman lost her life due to such a reckless and selfish act," one reader commented
