Laura Avila, R.I.P.
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Dallas Realtor Laura Avila passed away after being placed in hospice care.
We have held off on posting this tragic, tragic story for weeks with hope that the outcome would be much different.
But JP & Associates agent Laura Avila died Saturday, November 24 in El Paso, where she was on life support following a plastic surgery procedure in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico that left her brain dead.
Laura went into a coma after anesthesia complications in Cd. Juarez. She died around 8:20 a.m. Saturday morning, according to her sister’s Facebook post. She was only 36.
By now most people know that Avila, who lived and worked in the JPAR Uptown office, traveled to the Rinocenter clinic in Juarez for a rhinoplasty and redo of a breast augmentation, but fell into a coma after anesthetic complications before the surgery even started. Avila was a resident of El Paso, and going over the border for medical procedures is not uncommon for many El Paso residents who have relatives in Mexico. And cosmetic surgery procedures in Mexico are tempting — cheaper than those in the U.S. Avila’s family has said that the cost for Laura’s surgical procedures was about $8500, less than one-third the price of what she found for the same procedures in the U.S.
Her procedures were booked for 7 a.m. on October 30, but later pushed to noon, according to her sister, because some of the surgeons flying in from Guadalajara were running late.
Laura’s fiance, Enrique Cruz, was with her and was told the procedure would take four hours. When he returned for her around 4 p.m., he said he wasn’t able to see Laura and was told, finally, at 9:00 p.m. that Laura needed to be transferred to another hospital.
Angie Avila told ABC-7 in El Paso the doctors in Mexico said they may had erred in her spinal anesthetic injection: instead of flowing through her body, the anesthetic went straight to her brain. The complications resulted in Laura suffering severe global brain damage. Her brain swelled and she suffered cardiac arrest for several minutes, according to her family. Her family tried to move her to Parkland Hospital, but Parkland wouldn’t take her. The hospital where she had been transferred in Juarez refused to sign transfer papers until the family paid the bill. Finally she was moved to a hospital in El Paso where everyone had hope she would emerge from the surgery-induced coma. But late Friday, doctors recommended Laura be moved to hospice care, where she passed the next morning.
As for the Rinocenter, the investigations are only beginning.
ABC-7 reported that a Chihuahua state investigator confirmed that investigators searched Rinocenter, the facility where Laura sought the plastic surgery. Investigators looking into possible medical negligence seized medical records related to the case and said they expect to make a determination about what happened “in a few days.”
Laura’s family has retained Dallas attorney Larry Friedman, who was interviewed by WFAA-TV:
“She had the best of life in front of her until this tragic unfortunate and senseless death,” said Larry Friedman. “So that her death is not in vain, people should think of Laura before they look for cross border discount surgery. They should do their homework and investigate the experience, training and track record of anyone BEFORE they sign up.”
Realtors, more than other professions, often feel the need to undergo plastic surgery to retain a younger, refreshed appearance. Many resort to non-surgical injectables, but the pressure is definitely huge to look as youthful and energetic as possible. For one, there are now more agents to compete with: membership in the National Association of Realtors has grown about 30 percent since the Great Recession, creating one of the largest trade associations in the country at a time when Realtor commissions are under siege.
“By the time this year is over, I think we will have gone past our prior record of 1.4 million Realtors,” said Steve Murray, an industry analyst who heads Denver-based RealTrends. “People are still flooding in.”
In previous cycles, when housing sales declined or slowed, there was an exodus of agents from the industry. But now more young people are filling in the ranks, including millennials, like Laura, which is a positive sign for an industry where the average agent age is about 60.
But agents need to be careful consumers of cosmetic and surgical procedures. Even Botox injections cannot be taken lightly, and should not be administered at “Botox parties”.
As Larry said, track the experience, training and record of any physician before you undergo elective surgery, especially if outside the U.S. where an estimated 1.5 million Americans travel for medical care. While the cost may be less, standards are usually lower, and you may pay with your life:
“People are seeking alternatives,” said Josef Woodman, CEO of Patients Beyond Borders. “The oversight in countries like Mexico isn’t up to the same standards as it is on the United States.”
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Prayers for her family, as well as her Real Estate family at JP & Assoc. Sending up prayers and lots of love. She died way too young.