A woman died three months after traveling to Mexico for cosmetic surgery.
Mom-of-four Lauren Robinson, 29, died in Galveston, Texas, weeks after having surgery in Mexico.
Robinson wanted to fix a botched breast augmentation from years prior that left her scarred. She decided to travel across the border to a clinic in Matamoros, Mexico, for the procedure.
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The mom documented her journey on social media, with clips showing her body before the surgery and pictures of her in her clinic bed alongside her husband, Garrett Robinson, right after the three-hour procedure was completed.
In addition to getting her breast augmentation fixed, Robinson also opted for a Brazilian butt lift (BBL) and liposuction.
Everything seemed back to normal shortly after the surgery and Robinson’s husband said she went back to work and told Inside Edition ‘everything was great’.
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A few days after going on a trip with her children, Robinson started to feel unwell.
“She just kept randomly having really bad migraines where she wanted to cry,” her husband recalled.
It didn’t take them long to realise that Robinson’s recent health issues were due to the surgery.
Doctors determined that Robinson had contracted fungal meningitis. It’s believed she either got it from contaminated anaesthesia or unsterilised equipment in Mexico.
She suffered four mini strokes as her health declined and she was eventually put on a ventilator. Robinson died on 31 May, 2023, just three months after the breast surgery.
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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said 17 people have suspected meningitis after going to Mexico for surgery. Now 212 US residents are being monitored for signs of the deadly infection.
Fungal meningitis outbreaks at cosmetic procedure clinics in Mexico have killed four people, health officials announced last month.
Health officials have since warned US residents to cancel planned surgeries in Matamoros, with the CDC issuing a travel advisory last month urging travelers to ‘practice enhanced precautions’.
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The CDC said earlier this month that the cases were among patients who underwent epidural anaesthesia and the outbreak had been linked to two clinics. Mexican health officials closed the two clinics on 13 May.
Symptoms of fungal meningitis include fever, headache, stiff neck, nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light and confusion. It can take weeks for symptoms to develop and when they do, the symptoms may appear very mild at first. But once symptoms start, they can quickly becoming life-threatening.