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Plastic surgeon accused by police of forging death certificate of model who died after having facial fillers

The 28-year-old model was reportedly taking a banned horse medication to enhance her performance in the gym

Harriet Sinclair
Saturday 12 March 2016 12:32 EST
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The 28-year-old died after having facial fillers
The 28-year-old died after having facial fillers (Musa do Brasil)

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A plastic surgeon in Brazil has been accused of forging the death certificate of a woman he worked on, in order to hide his failure to check her medical history.

Dr Wagner Moraes injected facial fillers into his patient, model Raquel Santos, 28, from Rio de Janeiro, before she suffered a heart attack and died.

Ms Santos reportedly was using the banned performance-enhancing horse medication Potenay to improve her gym workouts, which it is believed may have contributed to her suffering the heart attack.

It is believed that Dr Moraes was unaware of Ms Santos’ medication, as he allegedly did not look into whether the model was taking medication or investigate her medical background, The Mirror reported.

Police official Mario Jose Lamblet dos Santos told the paper: “She was checked twice by the doctor, once on the day of surgery and again afterwards.

”During the investigation, we discovered that he only knew she was using anabolics when hospital staff declared her dead.“

It is alleged the cosmetic surgeon only altered the woman’s death certificate to hide his failure to check her medical records, and is not believed to be accused of making any other alterations to the certificate.

The mother-of-two, who was a finalist in the Musa do Brasil pageant, reportedly had big plans for her modelling career.

The organizers of the competition, Lipe Aramuni and Eduardo Graboski, said in a statement: “We deeply regret. Her dream was interrupted. She was excited and happy to reach the final of the contest. Like us, all candidates are in shock. May God comfort the whole family.”

Investigators also said that as a cosmetic surgeon, Dr Moraes should did have the right to issue a cause of death certificate.

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