HIALEAH, Fla. – After hearing about the death of a 29-year-old mom who traveled to Miami for a Brazilian butt lift, but never made it back home to her two children, a woman changed her mind.
She had traveled from New York to undergo the same trendy procedure. Through liposuction and fat transfer, doctors promise a booty inspired on the curves of Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce and Kim Kardashian.
The risky reality hit her while standing in front of the Encore Plastic Surgery office, 1738 W. 49 St., in Hialeah. She gave up on her dream and wanted the clinic to refund her the $4,000 she paid for the procedure.
"I'm not having surgery here," she said. "Are you kidding me? It's a chop shop."
Panic ensued among other patients of Encore Plastic Surgery, formerly iQuest Surgery Center, in Hialeah and its affiliate, Vanity Cosmetic Surgery in west Miami-Dade County.
One of the doctors at the clinic had a history of accusations of domestic violence. And another doctor had been removed due to a history of medical malpractice.
Marianela Sanchez, an Encore Plastic Surgery patient, said she underwent breast augmentation nine months ago and was suffering.
"I'm still in pain," Sanchez said, adding that she had to deal with blood clots and has undergone two surgeries to correct "mistakes."
QUESTIONABLE RECORD
Dr. Orlando Llorente, of Vanity Cometic Surgery, and James McAdoo, of Encore Plastic Surgery, have a clear license without complaints on file in Florida, records show. But the clinic does have a history of complaints.
Llorente was arrested in 2013. He was charged with kidnapping and attempted murder in a case of domestic violence that involved water-boarding.
"What he did was grab her hair, stick her (head) in the toilet and afterwards into the tub, and then shoved a piece of rag down her mouth, causing her to almost lose consciousness," Miami police Kenia Fallat said in 2013.
His girlfriend told police he tortured her for 12 to 16 hours in an apartment in Miami's Brickell area. Authorities later dropped the charges due to lack of evidence
MALPRACTICE ACCUSATIONS
According to Florida Department of Health records, there was a February order of emergency restriction of license filed against another doctor who was affiliated with Encore Plastic Surgery.
Dr. Osakatukey "Osak" Omulepu, formerly of Vanity Cosmetic Surgery and Spectrum-Aesthetics Center for Cosmetic Surgery, was accused of injuring four patients, ages 29 to 35, last year.
Omulepu received the Florida Surgeon General order of emergency restriction after he was accused of botching medical procedures in 2015 that resulted in hospitalizations from three days to three months.
"The extreme number of violations that occurred within this two-day period, which resulted in significant and lasting patient harm" indicates Omulepu "will cause significant harm to his patients," the order said.
Some of his alleged mistakes included not using the correct proportion of anesthesia. Omulepu didn't carry medical malpractice insurance.
TRAGIC DEATH
Heather Meadows traveled from West Virginia to Miami-Dade County to undergo liposuction and buttocks augmentation procedures. She was taken to Palm Springs General Hospital, where she died Thursday.
Hialeah Police Department spokesman Carl Zogby said Friday that evidence in Meadows' case pointed to "an accidental death."
Zogby added that investigators believed there was no "criminal activity related to this tragic death."
Meadows' family said the mother of two was in good health before the procedure. Attorney James Hannon was representing Meadows' family.
CONSIDERING PLASTIC SURGERY?
Research physicians' medical society memberships and verify if the American Board of Plastic Surgery certified your surgeon.
McAdoo is not certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery. Llorente's certification was issued before his arrest in 2009 and is set to expire in 2019.
McAdoo was also part of a case linked to questionable marketing practices when he was seeing patients at Beaute 'e' Mergente, also known as McAdoo Cosmetic Surgery, in Illinois, records show.
Have you or someone you know suffered from health problems after having a procedure at Encore Plastic Surgery, formerly iQuest Surgery Center, or at Vanity Cosmetic Surgery? Contact Local 10 News at Share@Local10.com.
Local 10 News reporters Shyann Malone and Layron Livingston contributed to this story.