Mexican Authorities Close 3 Clinics Following Australian Woman’s Death

MEXICO CITY – Health officials closed three clinics and a hospital therapy center in Mexicali, the capital of the northwestern Mexican state of Baja California, in response to the death earlier this month of an Australian woman who underwent plastic surgery.

The medical facilities in the Valley of Mexicali were shut down after inspections discovered violations of the law, the Federal Commission for Health Risks Oversight, or Cofepris, said.

Eva Nicole Sarmonikas died on March 20 after undergoing liposuction on her abdomen and buttocks, the federal agency said.

Dr. Victor Manuel Ramirez Hernandez, who performed the procedures on the 28-year-old Australian woman, is under investigation by the Baja California Attorney General’s Office for possible negligence, the Cofepris said.

The medical facilities were cited for having expired medicines, poorly maintained and obsolete equipment, improperly handling biological waste and having undivided recovery areas, said the agency, part of the Health Secretariat.