Mexican surgeon suspended after alleged secret cosmetic surgery on 14-year-old stepdaughter

A plastic surgeon in Mexico has been suspended from practicing while authorities investigate allegations that he performed cosmetic procedures on his girlfriend’s 14-year-old daughter days before she died. Víctor Manuel Rosales Galindo is accused of performing a breast augmentation, liposuction and a Brazilian butt lift on Paloma Nicole Arellano Escobedo without her father’s knowledge or consent, according to Mexican media reports.

Paloma Nicole Arellano Escobedo died about a week after the procedures, her father, Carlos Arellano, said. Arellano contends Paloma’s mother, Paloma Escobedo Quiñónez, arranged the secret surgery as a gift ahead of Paloma’s 15th birthday on Sept. 12. He says he was never informed and only learned of the implants when he saw her body at Paloma’s funeral in Durango. He has called for an autopsy and has asked prosecutors to investigate what he describes as a possible cover-up. Arellano also said Paloma’s mother, Escobedo Quiñónez, worked as a nurse at Rosales Galindo’s clinic, according to Mexican outlets.

In the week after the surgery, Paloma experienced cardiorespiratory arrest and severe brain swelling. She was placed in an induced coma and connected to a ventilator. Official documentation lists her cause of death as cerebral edema resulting from a respiratory illness, but Arellano maintains the procedures were the cause of her decline and death. He filed a complaint with the Durango Prosecutor’s Office and is demanding a full investigation of the doctor, the mother, the hospital and any administrators involved in what he calls a cover-up.

Rosales Galindo has been suspended from practicing in Mexico as prosecutors review the case. The Durango Prosecutor’s Office is examining the circumstances surrounding Paloma’s death and the alleged secrecy of the procedures. The death has drawn national attention, with President Claudia Sheinbaum saying her administration would review the case and assist the family if needed.

Health authorities and legal officials emphasize that underage cosmetic procedures raise serious safety and consent concerns. While the official cause of Paloma’s death is listed as cerebral edema linked to a respiratory illness, the timeline of events and the alleged lack of parental notification have intensified scrutiny of how such procedures were organized and carried out. The case remains under investigation, with no public charges announced at this time.