A woman, identified as 47-year-old Ecuadorian national Ana Sergia Alcivar Chenche, died last Saturday after suffering a medical emergency during a liposuction procedure at an unauthorized medical studio in Rome. She was transported by a private ambulance, called late, and arrived at Policlinico Umberto I, intubated and having suffered cardiac arrest. Medics tried to revive her in vain.
Investigators determined that the office of Dr. José Lizárraga Picciotti, where the liposuction took place, was transformed into an illegal operating room for cosmetic surgery interventions and had been operating without authorization for 13 years. When police arrived, the surgical center was found devoid of equipment, with everything missing.
Dr. Lizárraga Picciotti, a 65-year-old Peruvian citizen, is under investigation for manslaughter in connection with the death of Alcivar Chenche. An anesthetist named Paolo Colcerasa and a nurse are also being investigated. The preliminary results of the autopsy indicate that she may have been struck down by a pulmonary embolism or a cardiac complication.
Investigators found that the clinic lacked first aid equipment, including a defibrillator, and had no archives or documentation of patients, including any medical records of Alcivar Chenche. The private ambulance was called by Dr. Lizárraga Picciotti, who initially tried to perform resuscitation maneuvers without calling for help and contacted the ambulance hours later without using the emergency number 118.
Dr. Lizárraga Picciotti had previous proceedings for negligent injuries after complaints from two patients in 2006 and 2018, and he had a series of previous medical responsibility cases against him. He promotes himself on social media with the slogan: "I send time back," and his channels feature a mix of professional and personal self-promotion, including posts where he dances and sings aboard luxury cars.
One of the slogans featured on his profiles is "All South American aesthetic surgery in Rome," evidently aiming at a specific audience. Many posts on Lizárraga Picciotti's Instagram feature young women who have used his treatments. He boasts a predominantly South American clientele, targeting the large South American community in the Italian capital. He promotes aesthetic procedures with competitive prices, stating: "Free your beauty, we have the best prices."
In an interview with La Repubblica, former patient Emini Gercaliu recounted her ordeal, stating, "I was saved by a miracle. He operated on me, I was unwell and he refused hospitalization. I risked not making it; he took away 10,000 euros from me. I cried reading that a 46-year-old woman died after liposuction. It could have been me. We were the same age. The same procedure. The same doctor: José Lizárraga Picciotti."
Gercaliu, a 46-year-old Albanian woman, suffered physical and psychological scars after surgery performed by Lizárraga Picciotti. "He ruined me, between still current pains and an unrecognizable abdomen," she said. She obtained justice in both criminal and civil courts thanks to lawyer Antonello Riccio, who accompanied her through years of battles.
Authorities have noted that several women have died in recent months in Rome after undergoing aesthetic medicine procedures. These include 22-year-old Margaret Spada, who died after rhinoplasty in an unauthorized studio, and 62-year-old Simonetta Kalfus, who died from sepsis following liposuction.
Following these incidents, the Carabinieri's NAS intensified inspections of aesthetic medicine centers, responding to the rise in fatalities linked to unlicensed clinics. The inspections resulted in the identification of 32 criminal offenses related to the illegal practice of the health profession, the illegal activation of aesthetic medicine clinics, irregularities in the management and storage of expired drugs, the receipt of drugs for hospital use, and the forgery of professional certificates. They also seized medical devices and drugs worth 3.5 million euros.
Produced with the assistance of a news-analysis system.