Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Baja cracks down on cosmetic surgery with prison time

Five related deaths last year

The adverse events represent one percent of all such surgeries made in Tijuana.
The adverse events represent one percent of all such surgeries made in Tijuana.

Medical tourism in Tijuana has been recognized for its high standards and affordable medical interventions, particularly in cosmetic surgery. But, since the Corona pandemic, government supervision of clinics and doctors that perform cosmetic surgery is not reassuring.

Just last year, five deaths related to cosmetic surgeries happened in Baja California, four of which were in Tijuana. Even though these events represent one percent of all such surgeries made in the city, according to the College of Plastic, Aesthetic, and Reconstructive Surgeons of Baja, the state government just passed a law that would penalize “medical charlatans” with up to six years of prison for performing surgeries without a card or certificate issued by authorities.

In the past few days, women affected by medical malpractice in Tijuana have gotten organized. One of those is Jessica Rangel, 26, who went to the Molding Clinic in the financial sector of Zona Rio, to get a mastopexy for breast symmetry.

Sponsored
Sponsored
"I even thought about suicide, looking at myself in the mirror."

“A friend of mine from high school recommended this doctor. He convinced me; showed me all the pictures from his previous work, and I trusted him blindly. They are health professionals, right? They should be certified to do this. Now the outcome is irreversible.”

According to her lawyer, Antonio Gomez, Rangel was persuaded by the doctor to undergo more surgeries, on her buttocks and abdomen.

Gomez: “Till this day we are not sure if Jose Martin Castaneda has a professional certificate or if the clinic has the proper premises to keep working. The lack of what we called lex artis ad hoc caused irreversible damages. He burned Jessica's body several times and continued damaging more parts of her body.”

“I cannot even laugh anymore,” Rangel noted. “I can't even do that, when I do I feel an internal pain.... I even thought about suicide, looking at myself in the mirror, and dealing with that was such a struggle for me, knowing that there is no way back, not even with reconstructive surgery”.

This event happened in 2016 and was not until one year later when Rangel realized something was not right and started a complaint to the state prosecutor's office, but her investigation archive went “missing” several times.

Authorities were not able to locate the doctor. The lawsuit is still open, and meanwhile, the clinic is still working with the public, but lawyer Gomez said that the law which was passed links Rangel's claims to the federal penal code. This would help their case and others throughout the state.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Victorian Christmas Tours, Jingle Bell Cruises

Events December 22-December 25, 2024
Next Article

San Diego beaches not that nice to dogs

Bacteria and seawater itself not that great
The adverse events represent one percent of all such surgeries made in Tijuana.
The adverse events represent one percent of all such surgeries made in Tijuana.

Medical tourism in Tijuana has been recognized for its high standards and affordable medical interventions, particularly in cosmetic surgery. But, since the Corona pandemic, government supervision of clinics and doctors that perform cosmetic surgery is not reassuring.

Just last year, five deaths related to cosmetic surgeries happened in Baja California, four of which were in Tijuana. Even though these events represent one percent of all such surgeries made in the city, according to the College of Plastic, Aesthetic, and Reconstructive Surgeons of Baja, the state government just passed a law that would penalize “medical charlatans” with up to six years of prison for performing surgeries without a card or certificate issued by authorities.

In the past few days, women affected by medical malpractice in Tijuana have gotten organized. One of those is Jessica Rangel, 26, who went to the Molding Clinic in the financial sector of Zona Rio, to get a mastopexy for breast symmetry.

Sponsored
Sponsored
"I even thought about suicide, looking at myself in the mirror."

“A friend of mine from high school recommended this doctor. He convinced me; showed me all the pictures from his previous work, and I trusted him blindly. They are health professionals, right? They should be certified to do this. Now the outcome is irreversible.”

According to her lawyer, Antonio Gomez, Rangel was persuaded by the doctor to undergo more surgeries, on her buttocks and abdomen.

Gomez: “Till this day we are not sure if Jose Martin Castaneda has a professional certificate or if the clinic has the proper premises to keep working. The lack of what we called lex artis ad hoc caused irreversible damages. He burned Jessica's body several times and continued damaging more parts of her body.”

“I cannot even laugh anymore,” Rangel noted. “I can't even do that, when I do I feel an internal pain.... I even thought about suicide, looking at myself in the mirror, and dealing with that was such a struggle for me, knowing that there is no way back, not even with reconstructive surgery”.

This event happened in 2016 and was not until one year later when Rangel realized something was not right and started a complaint to the state prosecutor's office, but her investigation archive went “missing” several times.

Authorities were not able to locate the doctor. The lawsuit is still open, and meanwhile, the clinic is still working with the public, but lawyer Gomez said that the law which was passed links Rangel's claims to the federal penal code. This would help their case and others throughout the state.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Rebecca Jade, Stoney B. Blues, Manzanita Blues, Blame Betty, Marujah

Holiday music, blues, rockabilly, and record releases in Carlsbad, San Carlos, Little Italy, downtown
Next Article

Rapper Wax wishes his name looked like an email password

“You gotta be search-engine optimized these days”
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader