Las Vegas Plastic Surgery
As the popularity of silicone injections and other cosmetic injection treatments continues to rise, so does a disturbing and dangerous trend in the cosmetic and plastic surgery world: reports of patient injury and sometimes death related to cosmetic procedures being performed by unlicensed, untrained individuals in unsafe, uncertified facilities. Fortunately, the professional plastic surgery community, national media, and law enforcement has been proactive with spreading awareness about the risks associated with using non-board certified physicians.
Still, reports of unlicensed plastic surgeons continue to appear. Last week The Associated Press reported prosecutors in New York sentenced an unlicensed New York City cosmetologist to 9 months in jail for administering silicone injections that ultimately led to a woman’s death.
Elsa Then was sentenced in a Bronx court. She was convicted last month of criminally negligent homicide in Fiordaliza Maribel Pichardo’s death in 2009.
Ms. Then’s lawyer didn’t return calls from the media.
The Bronx District Attorney’s office said the 43-year-old Pichardo got sick after receiving numerous silicone injections in her buttocks and thighs that were administered in her home. Authorities said a silicone-induced lung blockage killed her, and an autopsy showed excessive amounts of silicone in her hips and thighs.
Prosecutors also said Then falsely claimed she had state authorization to give silicone injections. They claim Then tried to persuade Pichardo’s family she died because of smoking.
Sadly, this is just another in the numerous examples of unlicensed, unqualified “practitioners” practicing aesthetic medicine in an inappropriate setting with horrific results. This has occurred in various major cities, and reports keep increasing.
When you are looking for a cosmetic surgeon please make sure they are board certified and experienced. Your health and well-being is never something to bargain with.
Jeffrey J. Roth, M.D., F.A.C.S.
(702) 450-0777www.jjrothmd.com
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