A Phoenix family is in mourning after a 25-year-old woman died at a Nogales, Sonora hospital known for performing cosmetic surgeries.
A lot of people from the Valley take part in medical tourism, hoping for lower-cost procedures with us being so close to the Mexico border.
12 News spoke with a receptionist at the clinic, Clinica Hospital del Sol where thewoman died.
The receptionist said the clinic is not to blame for the death because the operation room was rented out that day to a doctor who is not a regular employee of the clinic.
And that’s a big red flag according to board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Ramon Robles.
“Most cases -- 20 percent of my patients are what you would consider botched cases from Mexico and some of them come in with drains that were not even removed," Robles said.
Robles said he helps correct botched liposuction and tummy tucks after patients have crossed the border back into the U.S. and are in intense pain.
“Probably the one I've seen the worst, and I wish I could pull, is a young man who had fillers injected in his face," Robles said. "His eyes were completely shut his face.”
Mexico is the fourth most popular country in the world for cosmetic surgery.
But you really need to do your research to check out the doctor’s credential and training.
“To just ask a plastic surgeon if they’re board-certified is not enough. You have to ask them the next question: By what board?” said Robles.
Mexico has its own board, the Mexican Association of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, which has an online database where you can search a doctor by name.
We showed Dr. Robles the website for Clinica Hospital del Sol.
“First of all, it says it’s a hospital but it doesn’t look like a hospital to me -- more like a district with a store front,” Robles said.
Something that’s also alarming is that an actual doctor’s bio is nowhere to be found.
“So there’s nothing here that tells me anything about who performs the surgery,” said Robles.
And there are no typical before-and-after photos with satisfied patients.
"It’s like playing Russian roulette with a patient’s life,” said Robles.