Argentine actress and former model Silvina Luna, aged 43, tragically passed away on August 31, after enduring a grueling 79-day hospitalization at Hospital Italiano. This ordeal was a consequence of complications stemming from a problematic cosmetic procedure performed in 2011. According to reports from mirror.co.uk, her brother, Ezequiel Luna, granted permission to disconnect her from life support.
Her attorney, Fernando Burlando, expressed the profound sorrow surrounding her passing, stating, “an ending that aches, hurts.” He fervently hopes that this tragedy will serve as a wake-up call for authorities and society at large, ultimately preventing further such tragedies.
The ill-fated cosmetic procedure in 2011, performed by surgeon Anibal Lotocki, involved the injection of a banned substance, polymethylmethacrylate, as noted by Argentina’s National Administration of Drugs, Food, and Medical Technology. Dr. Lotocki was already facing charges for the 2021 death of another patient operated on in 2010.
Silvina’s medical struggles began in 2015 when she sought treatment for kidney stones. This eventually led to a diagnosis of renal insufficiency and hypercalcemia, requiring weekly dialysis treatments until a suitable kidney transplant became available. In 2016, she traveled to Miami for surgery to remove the harmful substance from her buttocks under the care of Dr. Cristian Perez.
Speaking to C5N television, Dr. Perez highlighted, “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.”
Silvina’s condition continued to deteriorate, leading to her hospitalization on June 13, with sedation lasting nearly two weeks. On August 19, there was a brief glimmer of hope as the hospital reported that she was “breathing on her own” and undergoing rehabilitation. Tragically, she contracted a bacterial infection, necessitating her return to intubation on August 30, before being taken off life support the following day.
In response to Silvina’s death, the Buenos Aires Attorney General’s Office initiated an investigation and ordered an autopsy to be conducted. Dr. Lotocki, already sentenced to four years in prison for medical malpractice in February 2022 based on Silvina’s lawsuit and those of three other women, remains free as his case undergoes further review by the National Chamber of Criminal Appeals. A court had also prohibited him from practicing medicine for five years in July.
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