The National Police have charged three doctors in connection with the death of a young British woman during an aesthetic surgery procedure in Palma de Mallorca. Investigators allege that multiple irregularities occurred during the operation, which culminated in the patient experiencing a cardiorespiratory arrest. One of the suspects, the clinic’s director aged 69, has been detained, while another is under formal accusation. Both are being investigated for an offense of negligent homicide. The third medical professional involved had already died several months earlier.
According to the police, the events date back to September 1 of the previous year. A young British woman underwent cosmetic surgery at a Palma clinic. During the procedure, she suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest and was rushed to Son Espases Hospital. After spending nearly two weeks in the intensive care unit, she died on September 13 from the severe injuries sustained.
The victim’s family filed a police report, asserting that malpractice occurred by the clinicians who performed the surgery. The homicide division of the police took charge of the investigation.
Officers, after collecting all medical records related to the intervention and taking statements from the medical staff, detained the clinic director on February 9 for an alleged offense of negligent homicide and another offense of violating a judicial order.
As for the other two doctors involved in the operation, investigators accuse one of them of an alleged offense of negligent homicide. The other doctor died suddenly two months after the surgery and could not be charged in connection with these events.
Among the irregularities found, investigators discovered that besides the initial surgery, the physicians agreed to perform a second procedure requested by the patient moments before entering the operating room.
Apparently, before going into surgery, the patient asked one of the doctors to take advantage of the scheduled entry to perform a second cosmetic procedure, a request that was accepted by all involved without ensuring that the patient had been adequately informed of the risks. It was precisely during the preparation for this second procedure that the patient went into cardiorespiratory arrest.
Additional irregularities include the fact that the patient signed informed consent for the planned surgery on the morning of the events, with the documents written in Spanish, a language the family said the patient did not speak or read.
The detained physician was already serving a prison sentence for other health-related offenses, which required authorities to seek his temporary release to inform him of the new charges before returning him to custody.
The detainee reportedly held a special prohibition on practicing as a healthcare professional, as well as restrictions on holding leadership or management roles in healthcare facilities. He disregarded this prohibition when he participated in the surgery that led to the death of the patient.