Overview

• The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office ruled that 26-year-old Wildelis Rosa died of an accidental pulmonary embolism caused by blood clots from her March 19 Brazilian butt lift.
• Rosa underwent the procedure at Prestige Plastic Surgery Clinic in Miami, paying $7,495 for fat removal from 12 areas and reinjection into her buttocks before experiencing extreme pain and respiratory distress.
• Since late 2021, the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner has certified 25 cosmetic procedure–related deaths, highlighting persistent safety and oversight gaps in South Florida’s booming surgery market.
• Brazilian butt lifts maintain one of the highest mortality rates in cosmetic surgery at roughly 1 in 15,000 despite 2019 safety guidelines and nearly 30,000 U.S. procedures performed in 2024.
• Rosa’s family has issued a public warning to patients considering elective enhancements and called for greater clinic accountability over low-cost fat transfer operations.