When Ranika Hall, 25, announced she would travel to South Florida for a Brazilian butt lift, her mother Nicole Hall and her family tried to talk her daughter out of getting the popular rear-reshaping surgery.
But Hall, a new mother, ignored her family’s advice because she was unhappy with her post-pregnancy body, NBC Miami reported.
But something went terribly wrong during the procedure.
At around 9pm last Thursday, paramedics were called to the business after Hall had lost consciousness and stopped breathing.
The mother-of-one was taken to hospital but she died an hour later.
It is not known exactly what caused Ms Hall's death and Hialeah police, the Florida Department of Health, and the Miami-Dade State Attorney's office are investigating.
A Brazilian butt lift is a butt augmentation procedure that uses liposuction to harvest fat from one or more areas of the body, and inject it into the butt cheeks and the outer hips. It can address a range of concerns, including flat or sagging buttocks, asymmetry, or other disproportions sometimes due to massive weight loss.
In contrast to butt implant surgery, which uses artificial implants to increase size and shape, many RealSelf community members prefer the Brazilian butt lift because of its natural approach.
The procedure is advertised on the place where Ranika got her surgery, Eres's, website as costing $3,500 and includes 12 areas of liposuction.
The tragic death follows another of mother, Heather Meadows, from West Virginia, who died in May 2016 after undergoing the same operation in the same building while it was under a different name and ownership.
At the time of Meadows's death, the business was called Encore and was under different ownership.
The site has been a plastic surgery center for more than a decade but has changed names and ownership multiple times during that period.
Encore plastic surgery, which is what the business was called at the time of Ms Meadows's death. The business has since changed hands and is now the site of the Eres Plastic Surgery.
According to her autopsy report, Meadows died from fat clots that caused her organs to fail by blocking her arteries.
Nicole says they can't afford to come to town and are arranging to bring her body home from there. Hall also wants to know why her daughter died. Hall's mother has created a GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses. They are just short of their ten thousand dollar goal.
"I know it's supposed to be a common procedure," Hall said. "I'm looking for answers."
Eres Plastic Surgery says it's investigating the death.
The attorney for Eres Plastic Surgery released an official statement that read:
"Dr. Daniel Calva and Eres Plastic Surgery express their deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of our patient who had recently undergone a cosmetic procedure at our center on Thursday evening. Dr. Daniel Calva and Eres Plastic Surgery are deeply saddened by what has occurred and offter their thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. Dr. Calva is a highly skilled and caring surgeon that is dedicated to providing the highest level of care to his patients."
"Her procedure was scheduled for 3/16/17 at 1:30pm Miami time," explains Nicole. "She sent a text at 11:40 Thursday morning letting us know it was about that time. Never knew that would be the last time I would hear from her."