Businesswoman's Corpse Exhumed As Police Probe Negligent Homicide After Eight-Hour Cosmetic Surgery

The body of a businesswoman who died after undergoing more than eight hours of cosmetic surgery has been exhumed as police investigate her death as a possible negligent homicide.

Andreia Vieira Gaspar, 51, was exhumed in Goiania, capital of Goias state in central Brazil, on 28 August so experts could carry out further examinations.

Andreia died on 12 August after undergoing six procedures on her face at the Ankar Hospital in the city.

Civil Police chief Wladimir Freire said investigators were examining whether there were indications of negligent homicide and that the exhumation was intended to establish the precise cause of death.

He told TV Anhanguera: "Every step that we carry out and request is important to the case. It is not a random choice. The issue here is to clear up doubts about the real cause of death."

Andreia had lived in Spain for five years and travelled to Goiania because she wanted to undergo cosmetic procedures on her face.

Her family attended the exhumation accompanied by a privately hired expert.

Family lawyer Fabio dos Santos said: "We have an expert hired by the family, an expert who has worked on very major cases in Brazil."

Prosecutor Suzete de Oliveira Freitas said the Public Prosecutor's Office considered an investigation necessary after receiving information about Andreia's death.

She said: "The Public Prosecutor's Office received notification of the patient's death and considered it appropriate that there should be an investigation into the facts to establish whether there was a crime or not, in this case negligent homicide."

According to TV Anhanguera, Andreia underwent six facial procedures during surgery lasting more than eight hours.

The operations involved repositioning tissue, muscles and her chin, altering her hairline and removing excess skin and fatty deposits from her eyelids, neck and jaw.

She was also reportedly given stem cells taken from her own body.

Andreia was taken to a hospital room following the surgery, where her sister Djiane Vieira said she noticed troubling symptoms.

Djiane said: "Her tongue was very swollen. She couldn't close her mouth."

The sister said she raised concerns with the medical team before Andreia's condition worsened around six hours after the operation.

Medical staff then reportedly attempted to resuscitate her for almost two hours before she was pronounced dead.

A report signed by the medical team listed acute thrombosis and pulmonary infarction as the cause of death.

Djiane alleged that the hospital did not have an intensive care unit despite claims that one was available.

She said: "The hospital didn't have an ICU and he [the doctor] said it did. If you go on their social media, they say they have one there. They didn't have an ambulance to look after my sister."

Andreia's relatives also claim the surgery went ahead despite tests carried out in Spain indicating an active bacterial infection.

Her sister said Andreia was also taking hormones continuously and had been advised to stop taking them only one week before surgery.

The family said Andreia first came into contact with surgeon Lessandro Martins through social media and received instructions remotely without having an in-person consultation beforehand.

Djiane said: "My sister paid BRL 118,000 to go in beautiful, as she was, so that she could die in my arms."

She added: "She was a princess. I used to tell her, 'Sis, you don't need this.' She would say, 'Sis, I need it because it's my dream.'"

Lessandro's representatives told TV Anhanguera that technical assistants had been sent to accompany the exhumation.

Hospital Ankar said it was following the investigation "with respect and serenity" and trusted that the examination and other investigative measures would help provide a complete technical clarification of what happened.

The hospital added that it had cooperated with authorities from the beginning and remained available to provide information and clarification.

(Newsflash)