Dallas woman put on life support after plastic surgery in Mexico dies
A Dallas real estate agent who was on life support with brain damage after she traveled to a clinic in Mexico last month for several plastic surgery procedures has died, her attorney said Saturday. Laura Avila was moved to hospice care earlier this month.
"So that her death is not in vain, people should think of Laura before they look for cross border discount surgery," Avila's attorney Larry Friedman said in a statement to CBS News. "They should do their homework and investigate the experience, training and track record of anyone BEFORE they sign up. Always LOOK before you leap!"
The procedures Avila received included a nose job and breast implant replacement. Her sister Angie Avila had told CBS News that doctors at the Mexican hospital where her sister was transferred told them the Rino Center in Ciudad Juarez put the anesthesia in the wrong place in Laura's spine, her brain swelled, her kidneys failed and she went into cardiac arrest.
Laura's fiance Enrique Cruz said he had researched the clinic and found positive reviews online. Angie Avila said they have family in Mexico and growing up often crossed the border to visit from El Paso.
"It sounds crazy to say, 'Oh they went to another country,' but to us, you know, it's home. It's familiar," Angie Avila said.
A 2017 study estimated nearly 1.5 million Americans were expected to travel outside the U.S. for medical care. In Mexico, procedures can cost anywhere between 40 and 65 percent less than in the U.S. Laura Avila's family estimates her procedures were somewhere around $8,500.