NYC mom dies after being injured in botched Queens butt implant removal by sham plastic surgeon
A mother of two who had her butt implants removed by a sham doctor in Queens has died, weeks after the March procedure, records show.
María Paz Peñaloza, 31, was initially left brain-dead last month after the botched attempt to have the implants taken out inside an illegal liposuction clinic in a home in Ditmars Steinway, but was taken off life support on April 11.
The phony surgeon, Felipe Hoyos-Foronda, who tried to flee and was arrested at JFK Airport, administered lidocaine to the victim through a syringe, causing her to go into cardiac arrest, according to a complaint filed in Queens Criminal Court.
“We never imagined this would happen,” the victim’s sister, Linney Peñaloza Cabrera, 34, told the Daily News. “A friend who went with María called and said she was taken away in an ambulance but she didn’t know how bad it was.”
“She went there because a friend had already gone there for an operation and recommended him,” she added. “From the time the ambulance came and while she was in the hospital, [doctors] were trying to revive her for two and a half hours.”
Prosecutors from the Queens District Attorney’s Office believe Peñaloza died from lidocaine toxicity. Lidocaine, while generally safe, can be toxic if wrongly administered or with large injections in widespread areas.
While the victim was at the hospital, her friend went to Hoyos-Foronda’s illegal clinic to pick up her belongings, sources told The Post.
A landlord told the friend what happened, prompting her to call the police, according to the sources.
Police managed to track the license plate of Hoyos-Foronda’s car to the Van Wyck Expressway — and Port Authority cops caught him at the airport, where he was getting ready to hop on a plane back to Colombia.
He was arrested and charged with second-degree assault, a felony, as well as unauthorized practice of a profession, according to the complaint.
“Whenever circumstances change in a case we re-examine the charges,” the Queens DA’s Office said. “This remains an active and ongoing investigation, and we cannot provide further comment.”
