The family of a 38-year-old Long Beach mother of two is searching for answers after they say their loved one died on the operating table at a cosmetic surgery clinic in Tijuana three months ago.
Keuana Weaver went to Mexico for a “mommy makeover,” including a tummy tuck on Jan 29, according to relatives. They were told she suffered blood clotting and a heart attack during the procedure.
Medical staff told her there were complications and explained to the family that, “‘We performed CPR for 45 minutes and we’re sorry,'” recalled Dalelisha Smith, who is getting married to Weaver’s brother and was at the clinic during the surgery.
Weaver’s family said they haven’t gotten any answers in her death.
“We went to the doctor’s office to try to talk to him to see what happened. He wouldn’t come out. He said he was scared. Weaver’s mother, Yolanda, told KTLA.
KTLA attempted to contact the surgeon who performed the procedure, identified by the family as Dr. Jesús Manuel Báez López, but he couldn’t be reached by phone Friday and did not immediately respond by email. A website for the clinic, Art Siluette Aesthetic Surgery, also currently goes to an error message, though their most recent Instagram post is less than 24 hours old.
Yolanda Weaver said she won’t stop until the surgeon loses license to practice.
“I’m going to do whatever it takes, my daughter is going to get justice,” she said.
The San Diego Union Tribune reported last week that two other California women getting plastic surgery at the same Tijuana clinic — and on the same day as Weaver — suffered serious complications.
One of the women is on dialysis for kidney failure and the other was hospitalized for two weeks, according to the newspaper.
A Beverly Hills plastic surgeon says the bigger picture is the issue of medical tourism, something Americans often seek because of issues of affordability in the U.S. But Dr. Rady Rahban believes going to other countries like Mexico for plastic surgery is too risky.
“You don’t have anywhere near the same rights as you do in the states and frankly you’re at the mercy of these clinics,” said Rahban. “Unfortunately, surgery is one of those things where if you pay more you don’t get more, but if you pay less you get less.”
Yolanda Weaver has a message to others considering plastic surgery in Mexico.
“Please don’t do it,” the grieving mother said. “Because if something goes wrong out there, it’s hell on water to get anything done.”