Actress-model dies due to 9-year-old botched plastic surgery

Silvina Luna, the Argentine actress and former model, has died, nearly three months after she was admitted to a hospital for kidney complications stemming from a plastic surgery that went wrong nine years ago.

The 43-year-old died on August 31 at the Hospital Italiano.

Luna's lawyer Fernando Burlando, who confirmed the death, said that the actress' family members decided to disconnect her from life support following the doctors' suggestion to intubate her again.

“We’ve always loved you, we’ll always love you, we’ve gone down the same roads, we’re always together in my heart because you are my chosen family,” wrote her friend, actor Gustavo Conti, in a post on Instagram.

Burlando further said the tragic loss was "an ending that aches, hurts".

According to a report in Buenos Aires Times, Luna's health issues were a result of the application of a toxic substance to her body during cosmetic surgery carried out nine years ago by Anibal Lotocki, a doctor facing prosecution for malpractice.

To survive, the former TV presenter underwent three dialysis sessions a week, for four hours at a time, the report said. Luna needed a kidney transplant and was hospitalised on June 13 after her health deteriorated.

On August 19, the hospital, in a statement, said that Luna was "breathing on her own, with kinesiological, nutritional and psychological rehabilitation," the report added.

Later, the hospital said that she contracted a bacteria and was intubated on August 30, before she was taken off life support after her family's approval.

The actress was first treated for kidney stones in 2015 and put on weekly dialysis treatments until a transplant was available.

In 2016, Luna met with Argentinian doctor Cristian Perez, who removed the dangerous substance from her buttocks. Speaking to C5N television, he explained, "[Luna] Silvina developed an autoimmune disease caused by the medications as a consequence of her surgeries. All patients develop severe kidney failure and end up dying."

Dr Lotocki, who performed the surgery on Luna, has been charged with the death of a patient he operated on in 2010. He injected Luna with a liquid that contained polymethylmethacrylate, a substance banned by Argentina's National Administration of Drugs, Food and Medical Technology.

The Buenos Aires Attorney General's Office has launched a probe into the actress' death and ordered her body to be sent to a city morgue for an autopsy.

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