Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News

A 41-year-old mother-of-four has died while undergoing plastic surgery at a clandestine clinic located in a garage.

According to local media, Lilia Andrea Ruiz Acevedo from the city of Cartago in the western Colombian department of Valle del Cauca travelled to the nearby city of Cali to undergo a liposculpture treatment called ‘suave brisa’ (‘soft breeze’).

Her widowed husband Jaider Medina said the practitioner was recommended to them by a friend and Ruiz Acevedo had first visited the clinic for a procedure in August that left her with an ‘umbilical hernia’, swelling near the navel.

Two months later, she decided to return for a liposculpture procedure and was attended by an “unlicensed practitioner without experience”, according to Medina.

The husband added: “The worst thing is that they did that to her in a garage.”

Ruiz Acevedo arrived at the Hospital Canaveralejo without vital signs, according to the city’s health secretary Nelson Sinisterra.

He said that the incident is currently under investigation, adding: “We cannot be sure yet if it was a reaction to the aesthetic, but physical checks show the body had cuts similar to those found with these kinds of procedures [liposculpture].”

The victim leaves behind four children and her body has been taken for a forensic examination to establish the exact cause of death.

According to Sinisterra, five people from Cali have been killed from cosmetic operations so far this year.

The local authorities reminded citizens that plastic, aesthetic and reconstructive surgery should be carried out by certified experts only.

The investigation is ongoing and it is currently unclear if any arrests have been made yet.

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