‘ A straight forward breast implant procedure changed a vivacious young mother into a completely handicapped young woman unable to care for her own basic functions ‘

Linda Perez, a young mother, seen here with her mother and her son, was left brain damaged after a cosmetic procedure

A South Florida woman’s life was drastically changed after a cosmetic procedure went awry. Her family is now making a passionate plea for their loved one, Tuesday.
Linda Perez suffered major brain damage after a breast augmentation procedure in 2013.
When the then 18-year-old Linda Perez went in for breast augmentation surgery in Miami, Fla.,  she was a fun-loving, spirited mother to a little boy. Today, after she woke from a coma, you would hardly recognize her.
“She goes into depression and crying,” her mother, Mariela Diaz, said of her daughter, who has been left brain damaged, barely able to speak and requiring 24-hour nursing care.
“She sees that she cannot walk, and when she realizes what happened to her she cries,” said added.

Linda Perez, seen before her breast augmentation surgery

On August 12, 2013, the vivacious and stunning young mother went in for surgery at the Coral Gables Cosmetic Center at a an alleged discount cost of $2,100. Ms Perez   still needs help doing even the simplest of things. “Physically, she’s no different than an infant who needs 24-hour care for the most basic activities,” said the family’s attorney, Mark Eiglarsh.
Perez will need care for the rest of her life. Her attorneys have since filed a lawsuit against the Coral Gables Cosmetic Center in an effort to get his client help. The clinic, however, has no insurance, and the anesthesiologist only has minimal coverage. “The amount that we recovered for her was so low, we gave her our fee,” Eiglarsh said.

Linda Perez was in a coma due to complications that left her with brain and heart damaged

18-year-old Linda Perez, went in a Florida cosmetic center for breast augmentation surgery  healthy and came out completely damaged forever

In a report previously filed by Perez’s surgeon, Dr. Jacob Freiman stated that the medical problems Perez experienced after the surgery are similar to ones she experienced during child birth. He cites this information to one of Perez’s doctors.
“They put a spinal anesthetic, and she needed to be intubated,” according to his report describing her post-labor obtained by the Herald.
Freiman believes that Perez hid this information from him so it wouldn’t stop him from performing the surgery.
Such a claim is argued as “hogwash” by Eiglarsh who denies that she knowingly had complications from anesthesia in the past.

“We obtained her medical records from when she gave birth to her son and she had an epidural, without any anesthesia. The allegation that she had an adverse reaction to anesthesia was manufactured by the cosmetic center lawyer in an obvious attempt to blame the victim and avoid responsibility for their gross negligence,” wrote Eiglarsh.
Records show Freiman is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and has no history of malpractice complaints.
But an anesthesiologist who also participated in the surgery does.
In 2006, Dr. Mario Alberto Diaz had been sentenced to 30 months in prison and two years’ probation after illegally peddling drugs online in Iowa.

Diaz was also a defendant for medical malpractice in the death of a 35-year-old following buttock augmentation. His license is active, but he is no longer working at the center, according to Lalchandani.
“Our hopes and prayers are with her. We never want to see any patient under harm,” said Lalchandani of Perez’s condition.
Due to patient privacy, Lalchandani said he couldn’t provide further comment, but said no lawsuits have been filed by the family.

Linda Perez, center, is fed by her mom Mariela Diaz as her father Fernando Izquierdo, left, and a nurse look on at her home in Homestead, Fla

Eiglarsh promised, however, that there’s one in the works.
“As they have no insurance, collecting a nickel towards my client’s lifetime of required healthcare is unfortunately impossible. We are still determined to raise people’s awareness concerning the dangers involved in these types of clinics,” he said.
Complications related to cosmetic surgery made national news earlier this month when another patient died in South Florida. Twenty-nine-year-old West Virginia resident Heather Meadows died after suffering complications while reportedly undergoing a Brazilian butt lift at Encore Plastic Surgery in Hialeah.
Perez’s family and her attorneys are now asking for the public’s help. “She’s going to need millions of dollars for therapy and for treatment. They don’t have it.” Eiglarsh said. “Unless the public helps, she’s going to have nothing.”
They set up a GoFundMe account and said no amount is too small. “This was a tragedy that should not have occurred,” Eiglarsh said.