• Paloma Nicole Arellano died Sept. 20 after undergoing multiple cosmetic surgeries without father’s knowledge or consent.
• Mother’s boyfriend, plastic surgeon Víctor Manuel Rosales Galindo, performed procedures at his private clinic in Durango.
• Father discovered truth at funeral after relatives noticed surgical changes, sparking criminal investigation and presidential intervention.

DURANGO, Mexico (TDR) — A 14-year-old girl died after undergoing secret cosmetic surgeries at a private Durango clinic, sparking a criminal investigation and prompting Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to personally intervene in the case.

Paloma Nicole Arellano Escobedo died Sept. 20 at Santa María Clinic after suffering severe complications from breast augmentation, liposuction and a Brazilian butt lift performed by her mother’s boyfriend, plastic surgeon Víctor Manuel Rosales Galindo. Her father, Carlos Arellano, knew nothing about the procedures until he discovered surgical scars and implants at her funeral.

Deception before tragedy

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The case began with what prosecutors describe as deliberate deception. On Sept. 11, Carlos received a call from his ex-wife, Paloma Escobedo Quiñónez, who told him their daughter had tested positive for COVID-19 at school. She explained they would be traveling to a remote cabin in the Durango mountains to isolate, where phone service would be unavailable.

“Worried but confident, Carlos didn’t suspect the dark reality that hid behind the mother’s lie,” according to local press reports. While Carlos believed his daughter was quarantining in the mountains, Paloma was actually undergoing multiple cosmetic procedures on Sept. 12 at a clinic owned by her mother’s 45-year-old boyfriend.

The surgeries triggered severe complications. Paloma suffered brain swelling and went into cardiac arrest, prompting doctors to place her in a medically induced coma and connect her to a ventilator. On Sept. 15, Carlos was finally contacted and told his daughter was hospitalized with COVID complications.

Discovery at the funeral

Carlos rushed to be by his daughter’s side. By Sept. 19, there were brief signs of improvement—she squeezed his hand and could turn her head. But doctors soon informed him the swelling had reached the lower part of her brain, making her condition “very serious, almost terminal.” An electrocardiogram revealed she was brain dead.

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After Paloma died Sept. 20, the official death certificate listed cerebral edema from a respiratory illness as the cause of death. Carlos accepted this explanation until relatives at the funeral made disturbing observations.

“At the funeral, some relatives told me her breasts were larger than what she had before, and when I mentioned it to her mother, she told me it wasn’t true, that she didn’t know anything,” Carlos said in a statement to the Durango Prosecutor’s Office.

Carlos asked to be alone with his daughter’s body to say goodbye. His ex-wife was reluctant to leave, but he eventually convinced her and her family to step outside. He remained with his mother, sister and sister-in-law.

“They examined my daughter, and sure enough: she had breast implants,” Carlos said. “We have photographs of the implants and the scars. We immediately requested an autopsy.”

Criminal charges and investigation

The Durango Attorney General, Yadira de la Garza Fragoso, confirmed authorities are investigating “a probable lack of care on the part of the mother for placing a minor who was under her care and custody in risky situations.”

On Sept. 28, a judge charged both the mother and Dr. Rosales Galindo with omission of care, falsification of documents, usurpation of profession and negligence in the exercise of medicine, according to El Siglo de Durango. The charges carry potential sentences of two to five years in prison, along with loss of parental rights and civil liability.

The Mexican Council of Plastic, Aesthetic, and Reconstructive Surgery has provisionally suspended Rosales Galindo pending the investigation’s outcome.

Presidential intervention

The case has drawn national attention in Mexico, with President Sheinbaum addressing it during her Sept. 24 morning press conference. She announced that the Interior Ministry would oversee the case to ensure accountability.

“Send us the case and we will gladly reach out to the family and see how we can help,” Sheinbaum said.

Carlos has filed a formal complaint demanding accountability from all parties involved. In a Facebook post, he wrote: “My daughter, Paloma Nicole Arellano Escobedo, just 14 years old, died a victim of an act of criminal negligence at a clinic on Phoenix Street. On September 12th she underwent, without my consent, plastic surgery… On his death certificate falsely put ‘illness’ as the cause of death, trying to cover up the truth.”

The case has ignited broader discussions about cosmetic surgery regulations for minors in Mexico and the dangers of procedures driven by societal beauty standards. Carlos called for a Sept. 27 march of parents under the slogan “girls don’t need implants.”

“We cannot continue to normalise the sexualization of girls or allow the ambition of some adults to put their lives at risk,” he said. “Girls deserve to grow up free, safe, and respected.”

Should countries implement stricter regulations requiring consent from both parents before minors can undergo elective cosmetic surgery procedures?

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