Long Beach mother of two dies during plastic surgery in Tijuana, Mexico
LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- A Long Beach woman and her friend went to get tummy tucks in Mexico -- she died and her friend barely survived.
Keuana Weaver, a mother of two, was told it would be a simple four-hour procedure: a tummy tuck and some other cosmetic work.
She and a close friend both signed up and headed down to Tijuana to the Art Siluette Aesthetic Surgery clinic.
But her friend ended up hospitalized for two weeks, and Keuana died on the operating table.
"I just couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe it," said Dalelisha Smith, Keuana's sister-in-law.
Dalelisha Smith was with Keuana that January day. She's engaged to Keuana's brother, Kesean Robins, and had to break the news to him and to Keuana's mother, Yolanda Weaver.
"This just destroyed our family," Weaver said.
Weaver says she wants to warn people about the Tijuana clinic, saying the doctor who worked on her daughter is not a licensed plastic surgeon.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, a third woman also fell seriously ill that day after plastic surgery at the clinic. She is now suffering from kidney failure.
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Eyewitness News was unable to reach Dr. Jesus Manuel Baez Lopez. His voicemail was full and our email was not answered.
When we checked Wednesday, the clinic's website was offline, but its Instagram account is still active.
Weaver said the clinic never pronounced Keuana dead and never even reported her death to the U.S. Embassy.
"They just discarded my daughter like she was a piece of trash. No one still has called me to say, 'Oh, I'm sorry.' No one has contacted me," Weaver said.
Weaver said an autopsy determined Keuana died from a heart attack and blood clotting issues.
Keuana's two children are now left with no mother, and her baby brother has been robbed of his best friend.
"I'm lost. I tell my mom every day 'Mom, I'm lost.' ... I just don't know what to do no more," Keuana's brother said.
Weaver is on a mission. She wants to get her daughter's story out there so people know the dangers of discount plastic surgery outside of the U.S. -- and the ultimate price you may end up paying.
"Don't do it because it's not worth it," Weaver said. "All I can say is, I'm going to keep fighting. I have to be her voice and I want her voice heard," she added.
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