The Department of Justice of Puerto Rico has presented criminal charges against Dominican physician Edgar Contreras for involuntary homicide against Dhelmalyz R?os Rivera, who died days after undergoing a plastic surgery. The Puerto Rican judiciary has requested that the physician travel to Puerto Rico to stand trial. The Dominican judiciary has another case underway for mal practice against Dr. Contreras’s brother, Juan Francisco Contreras. The physicians are not members of the Dominican Society of Plastic Surgeons of the Dominican Republic, which stated the physicians do not meet the standards of the medical organization. The Puerto Rican woman died on 1 September, 15 days after undergoing plastic surgery at the physician’s Bellas Artes Clinic in Santo Domingo. After the death of R?os Rivera, the Dominican Medical Association requested the revision of procedures used. But Dominican judiciary have yet to sentence a Dominican physician for mal practice. Contreras would be arrested if he enters US territory. He could also be arrested if he visits a third country that has an extradition treaty with the US. If he stands trial in Puerto Rico and is found guilty, Dr. Contreras could face 1-3 years in jail. Investigations following the woman’s death in Puerto Rico showed she died because of clot caused by fat. Dr. Contreras says that is not enough base for a malpractice suit.
