A mother-of-two in New York has tragically passed away after undergoing several botched plastic surgery procedures overseas.
According to the New York Daily News, 25-year-old Janelle Edwards died in the hospital last Tuesday shortly after being found unconscious in her car in the Bronx.
Edwards, who is believed to be a former hospital worker, reportedly died shortly after undergoing a procedure in which she had a breast enhancement, tummy tuck, and buttock implants at an unnamed clinic in Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic.
Although an initial autopsy proved to be inconclusive, medical experts later revealed that a blood clot from the botched surgery is what caused the young mom’s tragic death.
Edwards’ family members have since come out to say that the young mom’s death happened after she began complaining of very severe stomach pains.
Edwards’ sister, Samantha Edwards, also said that she believed her sister had died as a result of the botched operations.
Two weeks before her death, Edwards’ neighbor Paula Gordon said she saw Edwards doubled over in pain shortly after the surgeries.
“She said she was in pain and she was going to the hospital,” recalled Gordon, a school-bus driver. “That day she was in excruciating pain and I tell her I’m gonna pray for her. And I do.”
Gordon said she hopes Edwards’ story will serve as a warning for others who are hoping to get cheap cosmetic procedures abroad.
“Sometimes people say cheaper is better, but it’s not always,” Gordon said.
Other neighbors told the New York Daily News that Edwards seemed to be in a serious amount of pain the moment she returned from the Dominican Republic after undergoing the procedures.
“She was all wrapped in bandages and had an IV on a stand. She was in a lot of pain,” Elia Mayo, 50, said.
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons warns that flying immediately after undergoing surgery puts patients at a much greater risk of developing pulmonary embolism and blood clots than those who make sure to stay put during their recovery.
Edwards isn’t the first person to suffer complications after receiving cheap plastic surgery abroad.
In fact, the State Department has posted a warning on its page about the booming cosmetic surgery business in the Dominican Republic for those thinking of traveling there for that reason.
According to The Daily Mail, in March 2014, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control issued an alert after health officials reported that 19 women in five states had developed serious mycobacterial wound infections following plastic surgery procedures in the Dominican Republic.
After everything she went through, Edwards’ family hopes she is remembered for being a caring and loving mother.
"The family is mourning right now, so it’s not really a good time to talk," her cousin Christopher Hamilton, 23, said.
