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American "Medical Tourist" Women Dies in David (Panamá) After Undergoing Liposuction

Tuesday, May 19 2009 at 11:00 AM EDT
Contributed by: Don Winner
Views: 141

http://www.panama-guide.com/article.php/20090519110004914

- Plastic Surgeon Dr. Paúl Alegría in David -- By José Vásquez for La Critica - An American woman, 30 year old Patrice Lachon Clark, died early yesterday at dawn on Monday morning in a private health clinic in David, as a result of a presumed heart attack suffered after undergoing liposuction. "The woman entered the clinic on Saturday, underwent plastic surgery, came out of the operation, and spoke to her family members in the United States. She was then transferred to the recovery room of the company that assists patients undergoing operations.

Later she suffered respiratory failure which the patient did not survive," explained Dr. Paúl Alegría, the reconstructive and plastic surgeon who operated on the patient. Dr. Alegría said they conducted all of the required medical evaluations, briefed the patient on the risks of surgery, and the next day conducted the surgery. "We complied with the entire process. The risks of undergoing an operation of this type are the same as getting a filling in a tooth or undergoing a surgery of any kind - the greatest risk is during the operation," he said.

The surgery began Saturday at 12:00 noon and Patrice died yesterday at 3:00 am. The First Superior Public Prosecutor, Franklin Amaya, said an autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death and to consider if there are merits to open an investigation for medical negligence.

The American woman arrived from Houston, Texas, accompanied by other Americans who had already undergone liposuction with Dr. Alegría. The cost of liposuction is approximately $10,000. The relatives of Patrice Lachon Clark spoke yesterday with Dr. Alegría and asked for a medical forensic investigation, and for the corpse to be transferred to the United States.
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Mujer viajó de Estados Unidos a Chiriquí para operarse y murió

José Vásquez | Chiriquí, Crítica en Línea
Dr. Paúl Alegría.

La norteamericana Patrice Lachon Clark, de 30 años, falleció la madrugada de ayer, lunes, en una clínica privada en David, por un presunto paro cardiaco después de ser sometida a una liposucción.

"La joven ingresó el sábado a la clínica, se sometió a la cirugía plástica, salió de la intervención, habló con sus familiares en Estados Unidos. Fue trasladada al cuarto de recuperación en compañía de la asistente que ve los pacientes operados. Después tuvo un cuadro de paro respiratorio y se realizaron las maniobras de la cual la paciente no salió", explicó el doctor Paúl Alegría, cirujano plástico y reconstructivo que la intervino.

El doctor Alegría dijo que a la paciente se le efectuaron todas las evaluaciones, se le puso del conocimiento sobre el riesgo quirúrgico y un día después se le efectuó la intervención. "Se cumplió con todo el proceso. El riesgo de someterse a una operación de ese tipo es el mismo que cuando te calzas una muela o te sometes a una cirugía de cualquier tipo, el mayor riesgo es durante la operación".

La cirugía se inició el sábado a las 12:00 del día y Patrice falleció ayer, a las 3:00 de la madrugada.

El fiscal Primero Superior encargado, Franklin Amaya, dijo que se hará la autopsia para determinar las causas y considerar si hay méritos para abrir una causa por negligencia médica.

La norteamericana llegó de Houston, Texas, en compañía de otros americanos que ya se habían sometido a la liposucción con el doctor Alegría.

El costo de una liposucción se estima en 10 mil dólares.

Los familiares de Patrice Lachon Clark se comunicaron ayer con el doctor alegría y le solicitan el dictamen médico forense y que la joven sea trasladada a Estados Unidos.

By sloopskipper on May 19, 2009, 15:55 in Off Topic.

El Expatriado says on May 19, 2009, 21:10:

I'll stick to long distant running and sit-ups, thank you.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

kalder says on May 20, 2009, 00:10:

No surgical treatment is entirely risk free. When I was at school, a little girl died having a tooth extracted. I guess the moral is- don't do it unless it's necessary.

"A piece of cheese may entrap a mouse, but a bicycle could ensnare the Imperial Chancellor."~~An Bai Kuang

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tasco66 says on May 20, 2009, 10:11:

This is what some would call "bad news in the World, and then share it with PBH, semi-relevant or not."

By the way looking at Sloops post below I find many to be similar to mine...now that's funny....

The trouble with free elections is, you never know who is going to win (Leonid Brezhnev)

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miamimike says on May 22, 2009, 10:54:

My best friend's wife in the Military died while undergoing a routine tonsillectomy, she was 22 years old and in apparent good health. Apparent is the key word, apparently she had a un-diagnosed pre-existing condition that triggered her death on the OR table. I suspect this young woman in the opening post may, without having the complete pre-op tests to look at, have also had a pre-existing condition that triggered her death. Or maybe the surgeon extracted too many liters of adipose(fat cells) upsetting her fluid-electrolyte balance or possibly acquiried a post-op infection. Too many unknowns aren't stated here, not even vaguely, to make an educated guess as to what caused her death,,,Here in the US, patients die as well, albeit on rare occassions, during and after Plastic Surgery procedures. Just look at Miami as evidence of that ,,,

No hay Peor Ciego que el que no quiere Ver o Sordo que el que no quiera Oir--Soy Yo, Sarah Palin, Wasilla Alaska.

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sloopskipper says on May 22, 2009, 13:02:

A former colleague in Pennsylvania suffered a cerebral hemorrhage , either in the recovery room, or during hernia repair surgery.

Family complained about him not coming out of anesthesia, after a couple days, and had him taken from a semi-private room to intensive care at another hospital.

He died, at 36, a few weeks later.

(Mike did you get my PM?)

Seems that some people think "everybody's outa step but me".

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tasco66 says on May 22, 2009, 13:40:

Hey sloop, you are depressing me with all these gruesome stories…

The trouble with free elections is, you never know who is going to win (Leonid Brezhnev)

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sloopskipper says on May 22, 2009, 13:44:

Sorry, man.

Read: http://poorbuthappy.com/colombia/post/usns-comfort-band-spans-language...

Seems that some people think "everybody's outa step but me".

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tasco66 says on May 22, 2009, 13:55:

Thank you, this is a very good initiative

The trouble with free elections is, you never know who is going to win (Leonid Brezhnev)

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sloopskipper says on May 22, 2009, 16:31:

Yeah, gringos are not all villains, and all news is not bad.

Seems that some people think "everybody's outa step but me".

0 funny, 0 helpful.