Argentinian actress Silvina Luna died on Thursday from kidney disease linked to a botched buttock lift, her lawyer confirmed.
Luna, 43, was admitted to Hospital Italiano for 79 days where she was treated for complications from the 2011 buttock surgery.
Her brother, Ezequiel Luna, gave doctors permission Thursday afternoon to disconnect her from a ventilator, local news media reported.
Luna’s lawyer, Fernando Burlando, called the tragic loss “an ending that hurts” and hopes her fight will force authorities to “wake up so that society will take note and there will be no more deaths.”
Luna had the procedure performed around June or July 2021 by cosmetic surgeon Anïbal Lotocki, who is accused of the 2021 death of a patient he operated on.
Loocki injected Luna with a liquid containing polymethyl methacrylate, which is banned by Argentina’s National Administration of Drugs, Food and Medical Technology.
The fabric is a transparent and rigid plastic that manufacturers use as a replacement for glass in vehicle parts, lenses, panels and windows.
Argentinian actress Silvina Luna died Thursday after a long battle with kidney disease following a 2011 buttock lift operation. The 43-year-old was on dialysis and had been hospitalized since June 13. Her condition worsened Wednesday after doctors discovered a bacteria and placed her on life support.
Silvina Luna poses backstage in the press room at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards Latin America at the Jackie Gleason Theater in Miami
Argentine surgeon Aníbal Lolocki was sentenced to four years in prison in February over medical malpractice lawsuits brought by four women, including actress Silvina Luna, who died Thursday.
Luna required medical attention in 2015 when she was treated for kidney stones. Doctors diagnosed her with renal insufficiency and hypercalcemia, and she received weekly dialysis treatments until she could receive a kidney transplant.
In 2016, she traveled to Miami and met the Argentinian Dr. Cristian Pérez, who removed the dangerous substance from her buttocks.
“Silvina developed an autoimmune disease caused by the drugs as a result of her surgeries,” Pérez told C5N television. “All patients develop severe renal failure and eventually die.”
While waiting for a new kidney, Luna’s condition worsened and she was hospitalized on June 13 and sedated until June 29, when she was taken off a ventilator. On Aug. 19, the hospital said in a statement that Luna was “breathing on her own, with kinesiological, nutritional and psychological rehabilitation.”
Silvina Luna had kidney stones removed in 2015, four years after she had buttock surgery by a surgeon who injected her with polymethyl methacrylate, which is banned by Argentina’s National Administration of Drugs, Food and Medical Technology. The fabric is a transparent and rigid plastic that manufacturers use as a substitute for glass
Argentinian actress Silvina Luna died Thursday after a long battle with a kidney disease that required her to undergo dialysis several times a week. The 43-year-old suffered serious complications from a buttock surgery in 2011
Doctors at the Buenos Aires hospital where Silvina Luna was being treated met with her brother on Thursday and explained there was nothing more they could do to save her life before the 43-year-old actress was disconnected from a ventilator.
Mariano Caprarola, a TV presenter and fashion expert, died on August 17 due to kidney failure following buttock surgery performed by Aníbal Loocki
She contracted a bacteria in recent days and was re-intubated on Wednesday before being taken off life support on Thursday.
Luna’s close friend and entertainment journalist Ángel del Brito appeared on LAM, a program broadcast on América TV, and said that doctors had to explain to her brother that there was nothing more they could do to save her life because she was not responding to medication.
“It was a very difficult decision that her brother had to make, recommended by the doctors, of course, who thought about it several times, because it was very difficult for the only immediate family member Silvina had to make a decision about life from her sister. Del Brito said.
The Buenos Aires Attorney General’s Office is investigating Luna’s death and has ordered her corpse placed in a city mortuary, where an autopsy will be performed.
Luna’s passing comes just two weeks after Mariano Caprarola, a television host and fashion expert, died of complications from a 2010 buttock surgery, which Lolocki also performed.
In February 2022, Lolocki was sentenced to four years in prison for a medical malpractice lawsuit brought by Luna and three other women. A court banned him from practicing medicine for five years in July.
However, the surgeon remains free while the National Chamber of Criminal Appeals reviews the sentence.