New York, January 11: Clara Tolentino was terrified when her 43-year-old sister died in 2009 after getting liquid silicone injections to add a bit more shape to her buttocks.
The 35-year-old Tolentino had good reason to be. In 2006, she paid $2 000 to get liquid silicone injections, too.
“I didn’t do it as many times as my sister… But I was afraid,” said the Dominican woman who lives in the Bronx. “I was afraid that something was going to happen to me.”
Her sister, Fiordaliza Pichardo, died in March. According to an autopsy, about 1 400mg of silicone were in her lungs. Fresh injection sites dotted her thighs and buttocks. The New York City medical examiner’s office said the cause of death was silicone pulmonary embolism.
In the US, liquid silicone is not approved for cosmetic injections. It can kill, disfigure and cause long-term health problems. Still, it is avidly sought on the black market by untrained providers for those women who desire rounder breasts, buttocks and more shapely thighs.
—Agencies