A Queens man has been arrested as authorities accuse him of performing an illegal plastic surgery on a woman which left her 'braindead' in hospital.
Felipe Hoyos-Foronda, 38, was caught by the authorities after trying to flee the country and has been accused of botching a woman’s surgery at his unlicensed clinic.
The man was allegedly running his illegal practice on 35th Street in Astoria, police say.
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Court papers filed on Wednesday April 2 stated that a 31-year-old woman visited his clinic for a butt implant removal procedure at 1.00pm on Friday (March 30).
Hoyos-Foronda, who has since claimed that he was a doctor in Colombia, allegedly administered lidocaine to the woman via a syringe, which caused her to go into cardiac arrest, according to a complaint filed in Queens Criminal Court.
The ‘doctor’ then fled, leaving his ‘patient’ in a critical condition, police said.
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The victim was rushed to Mount Sinai Queens hospital as Hoyos-Foronda allegedly made a desperate call to the emergency services before trying to leave the country.
Once at the hospital, the complaint states the woman was intubated and displayed no brain activity. She also appeared to show signs of ‘lidocaine toxicity’.
According to the National Institutes of Health, lidocaine toxicity can present with mild to life-threatening side effects, stating: “Excitatory signs, such as restlessness, agitation, nervousness, or paranoia, may progress to muscle twitches and seizures. Ultimately, with large overdoses, CNS depression, including unconsciousness and coma, can occur.”
Once police arrived the property, they talked to the landlord, who provided them with Hoyos-Foronda’s image, and after managing to track the ‘doctor’s’ license plate, they noticed that he had travelled to the Van Wyck Expressway.
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A short time later, Port Authority police apprehended him at JFK Airport where he was discovered to have in his possession a ticket to Columbia.
He was subsequently arrested and charged with second-degree assault and unauthorized practice of a profession, as per the complaint.
Hoyos-Foronda was held without bail during his arraignment two days later and he is set to appear in court this morning.
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Police went on to release an image of Hoyos-Foronda and urged any other alleged victims to reach out and talk to them.
UNILAD has contacted the New York City Police Department for comment.
Britt Jones