Thursday, January 20 2011
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Medical Malpractice
Woman's heart stopped during liposuction [Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.]
Gallagher Healthcare
Publication Date: 01/19/2011
Source: South Florida Sun Sentinel (FL)
Woman's heart stopped during liposuction [Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.]
Woman's heart stopped during liposuction [Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.]
Publication Date 01/19/2011
Source: South Florida Sun Sentinel (FL)

Woman's heart stopped during liposuction [Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.]

Jan. 19--Doctors at a Lauderhill cosmetic surgery center worked for 18 minutes but could not revive a 35-year-old woman whose heart stopped during liposuction three weeks ago, the center's medical report says.

The report, released on Tuesday by her family's attorney, does not answer what caused Lidvian Zelaya's death Dec. 27 at Strax Rejuvenation and Aesthetics Institute, or clarify whether anyone was at fault. An autopsy has not yet been completed.

Zelaya was a customer service representative from Miami -- 5 feet 3 inches tall and 130 pounds -- who went to Strax to have fat removed from her back, abdomen and thighs, and reinjected to enhance her buttocks.

Zelaya's heart stopped for unknown reasons while she was being stitched up after doctors had completed the procedure, according to the report by surgeon Roger L. Gordon.

Efforts to restart her heart were unsuccessful for 18 minutes until paramedics took her to Florida Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

The family's attorney, Spencer Aronfeld, said no conclusions could be drawn from the report.

Strax's attorney, Jay Chimpoulis, agreed. He said one possible cause in such emergencies is a piece of fat or a blood clot blocking a blood vessel and causing the heart to stop.

Gordon's attorney, Rick Woulfe, declined to comment.

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Copyright (c) 2011, Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

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