A HEARTBROKEN family is demanding answers for a young police officer who died days after undergoing a risky cosmetic surgery.
Wildelis Rosa, 26, had just gotten back from deployment overseas when she decided to get the popular Brazilian butt lift.
But four days after the procedure, she died following complaints of “extreme pain” from the operation.
Rosa was a police officer in New Orleans, Louisiana, when she decided to undergo cosmetic surgery after returning to the US from her deployment in Kuwait as a US Army Reservist.
She informed her family she would be traveling to Miami for her birthday but did not disclose her intention to undergo a Brazilian Butt Lift, her older sister Anamin Vazquez revealed to NBC affiliate WTVJ.
On March 18, Rosa arrived in Florida for the trip.
The next day, she got blood work for the operation done at Prestige Plastic Surgery Clinic.
The procedure cost her $7,495, which typically involves doctors extracting fat from other parts of the patient’s body and transferring it to their buttocks.
Rosa had fat taken from 12 spots around her body and put into her backside at the clinic, an invoice shared with WTVJ showed.
She was discharged about an hour after the procedure, according to the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office.
Following the surgery, Rosa was recovering at a short-term rental in Miami with her friend when she started noticing some pain.
At her follow-up appointment the next day, she told doctors she was in “extreme pain,” the medical examiner said.
Her friend said that at the rental, Rosa’s blood pressure began to drop and she seemed to have trouble breathing.
Three days after the surgery, Rosa was pale with dilated pupils and purple lips, her friend said.
Rosa complained about not being able to feel her legs or feet.
She texted her friend that she was having “complications,” Vazquez said.
New Orleans Police Department’s statement
After New Orleans Police Department officer Wildelis Rosa died at 26 after complications from a Brazilian butt lift, the NOPD released the following statement:
The New Orleans Police Department is heartbroken by the sudden passing of Officer Wildelis Rosa, a cherished member of our NOPD family.
While her passing was not related to active duty, this loss is deeply felt by all who had the privilege of working alongside her.
Officer Rosa served with integrity, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to the people of New Orleans.
Her absence leaves a void that cannot be filled. We honor her life, her service, and the impact she made on this department and our community.
To her family, loved ones, and fellow officers – please know that you are not alone in your grief. We mourn with you, and we will carry her memory with us always.
“Her blood pressure dropped drastically she did not have circulation in the feet.”
That day, Rosa told her family she had undergone a BBL.
“You know we had just that feeling in our guts like something is wrong,” Rosa’s sister told WTVJ.
“I texted her and I said, ‘I hope you’re doing okay you’re enjoying your birthday.’ But there was no answer back.”
Rosa collapsed on her bathroom floor that night.
The next morning, her friend found her unresponsive and immediately started CPR, but she was already dead.
That’s the part that we have to live with because it was unnecessary for her to die.
Wildelis Rosa’s older sister Anamin Vazquez
The medical examiner said Rosa’s cause of death was a pulmonary embolism from blood clots associated with cosmetic surgery.
Officials said the complication was common and that the doctor’s office didn’t neglect Rosa, WTVJ reported.
However, Vazquez insists that doctors should have paid attention to the warning signs in Rosa’s symptoms after surgery.
“That’s the part that we have to live with because it was unnecessary for her to die … to die like that,” Vazquez said.
Prestige Plastic Surgery Clinic didn’t immediately return The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
‘DANGEROUS’ SURGERY
About one in 3,000 patients dies after getting a BBL, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
Reality TV star Jacky Oh died after a cosmetic surgery that went wrong in Miami in 2023, prompting expert Dr. David Shafer to share a warning to always seek out a board-certified surgeon for the job.
“It’s actually one of the most popular plastic procedures that’s done, but it’s also one of the most dangerous,” Shafer exclusively told The U.S. Sun at the time.
Miami is considered a popular spot for BBLs because they tend to cost less than the average surgery price, according to GoodRX.
