The clinic’s manager and anaesthetist have been arrested.
A 30-year-old British model and beautician died after undergoing a boob job in Spain, News.com.au reported. The incident happened in September 2023 when Donna Butterfield underwent two cosmetic operations at a private clinic in Palma, Majorca. Notably, she had a breast enlargement performed several years ago but had returned to have an imbalance corrected. The surgery cost her $11,650 (Rs 9,71,416).
However, the aspiring model, who had a pre-existing heart condition, suffered a heart attack, as a reaction to the anaesthetic and went into cardiac arrest. She was admitted to the intensive care unit at Son Espases University Hospital in Palma but died on September 14.
Her family said that all the preceding consultations had been conducted by email, and claimed that the clinic had taken very few precautions beforehand. A police investigation was launched after the woman’s family accused the cosmetic surgeons of malpractice.
According to the Majorcan newspaper Ultima Hora, the clinic’s manager and anaesthetist have been arrested. The manager, 69, has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter as well as carrying out the surgery despite being disqualified.
According to the National Police, the procedure involved several irregularities. The first was that the health professionals agreed to practice a second cosmetic procedure without warning the patient of the risks. She suffered from a congenital heart defect which meant 25% of her heart did not function as well.
Moreover, the signed patient consent forms were written in Spanish and the patient didn’t know how to read Spanish.
A spokesman for Spanish National Police said, ”National Police officers have arrested a 69-year-old man responsible for managing a clinic in Palma where he also worked as a practitioner, for crimes of gross negligence manslaughter and breaching a medical ban following the death of a patient.
Our homicide unit began an investigation and after gathering together all the documentation related to the medical intervention and taking statements from health professionals, arrested the director of the clinic who was also a medical practitioner. Investigators have accused one of the other two health professionals who participated in the surgery of the same type of manslaughter crime as the clinic director.”
Notably, Ms Butterfield was a successful beauty entrepreneur with her own hair extension business under the name ‘Donna Bee’ and ‘BeeWeavible’. A close family member said, ”We’ll never get over it, we just have to learn to live with it.”
