Doctor Arrested for Performing Cosmetic Surgery on Immigrants

A 24-year old woman in Framingham, Massachusetts, who only wanted to look beautiful, paid for that quest with her life when she died after having liposuction and a nose job performed on a massage table in a basement. The death of Fabiola DePaula brought to light what investigators described as an underground cosmetic surgery network targeting immigrants from Brazil.

Authorities believe Luiz Carlos Ribeiro, an unlicensed Brazilian doctor, performed nose jobs, liposuction, and Botox injections for three years in the Framingham area. His patients were primarily Brazilian, and they usually paid in cash. He performed the operations in the basement of his condominium for thousands of dollars. Police say that DePaula, a native of Brazil, had Ribeiro perform a nose job and liposuction on her for $3,300 on July 27. Three days later, she died from complications of the liposuction. According to her autopsy report, she was killed by pulmonary fat emboli, or fat particles that traveled to her lungs. District Attorney Martha Coakley said that the complication is a rare but known risk, and if the woman had gone to a hospital for her surgery, the surgeons there could have dealt with the complication and she probably would not have died.

Youth and beauty are a high priority in Brazil, which is home to some of the world’s most beautiful women. But Brazilians are notoriously willing to go under the knife in their quest for beauty. Jacque Foster, a friend of DePaula’s, said that someone has to speak out. "Go to the Brazilians, open their minds and let them know it’s dangerous," Foster said. "This is totally beyond unsafe. You have to think about what you are doing."

Other states with large immigrant populations have also dealt with situations where unlicensed people practiced medicine or dentistry illegally, charging fees lower than regular doctors and being paid mostly in cash. Miami, home to thousands of Brazilians and people from other Latin American countries, has seen many instances of illegal cosmetic procedures performed as a result of these countries putting a heavy emphasis on female beauty.

Some Brazilians in the area around Framingham told reporters that many Brazilians travel back to their native country to undergo all types of operations that usually will cost them thousands of dollars less than if they had them in the United States. But unlicensed doctors operating here are particularly appealing to immigrants, because they don’t have to risk not being able to return to the United States if they leave the country for surgery and want to come back.

In the case of Ribeiro, at least two other women have come forward to tell investigators that they were his patients. Authorities have set up a hotline and are using local Brazilian media to locate other previous patients and explain to them the risks involved in having illegal surgery performed on them. Massachusetts has more than 30,000 people of Brazilian descent, according to government estimates, and most of them live in the Boston area. Framingham, where Ribeiro performed his operations, is about 20 miles west of Boston.

Ribeiro and his wife, Ana Maria Miranda Ribeiro, both 49, were arrested and charged with manslaughter, unauthorized practice of medicine, and several drug counts. The couple has pleaded not guilty. "There should be a lesson learned from the death of this young woman," said Coakley. People think this is an extension of getting my nails done, getting my hair done." Foster told reporters that the saddest thing about the death of her friend is that she didn’t need the surgery in the first place. "She was absolutely gorgeous, not only on the outside but on the inside."