A DUBLIN coroner has warned of the dangers of cosmetic surgery following the death of a 33-year-old Irish man while undergoing a liposuction procedure at a Colombian clinic in September.
Dr Kieran Geraghty told Dublin County Coroner’s Court the case of Dubliner Pierre Christian Lawlor, who died of heart failure on the operating table, should be a caution to people considering having similar operations.
“The lesson to be learned here is that people should not have unnecessary cosmetic surgery,” Dr Geraghty said.
The court heard Mr Lawlor, of Belarmine Place, Stepaside, Co Dublin, died on September 3rd at the Centro Colomblade Cirugia Plastica in Bogota, Colombia, while undergoing cosmetic procedures on his face and torso.
Mr Lawlor, a qualified graphic designer who was working in a bathroom and tiling business, had travelled to Colombia with his wife Andrea Galleana and their son Zachary (1) for a holiday, and during the time he arranged to undergo the operation.
Ms Galleana, a Venezuelan national who met Mr Lawlor over the internet, told the inquest her husband was unhappy with his appearance, was paranoid about getting old and had received botox injections in the past.
She said Mr Lawlor had looked into procedures prior to the visit to Colombia and had settled on a €3,500 operation. She said that against doctors’ orders, Mr Lawlor had consumed alcohol prior to the procedure and that he had indicated to her that he had also taken cocaine the day before.
Ms Galleana said she left her husband in the medical centre before the operation and that when she returned, some five hours later, the doctor told her there had been complications.
Medical staff permitted her to enter the operating theatre where doctors attempted to resuscitate her husband but they were unsuccessful, the court heard. She said Mr Lawlor wished to be cremated, but that she returned home with his body on September 14th.
Ms Galleana said that when she arrived in Dublin, many of her husband’s belongings and his bank details had been removed from their home.
Mr Lawlor’s sister Claudine told the inquest she did not believe her brother died in the manner which was suggested following his death.
“All I am looking for is that this is investigated,” she said.
State Pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy told the inquest that she was of the opinion Mr Lawlor’s death should be classified as “per operative”. Prof Cassidy said there were clear surgical markings and incisions on his body, but there were no signs of obvious complications or abnormalities.
She said that in liposuction, excessive amounts of fat are removed, and that the procedure can provoke heart problems or irregularities such as cardiac arrhythmia.
Dr Geraghty recorded an open verdict in Mr Lawlor’s death, which he said was caused by cardiac failure related to prolonged surgery.
Speaking following the inquest, Mr Lawlor’s father Tom said the family were “disappointed” with the coroner’s verdict.
At the start of the hearing the family’s legal representative requested an adjournment, saying it should be delayed because a full selection of medical records on Mr Lawlor had not been received from Colombia. The request was refused by Dr Geraghty.
“There is obviously a lot more to this than meets the eye,” Tom Lawlor said. “We are considering our options and may bring this case to the High Court.”
