Ilhéus hospital surgical center suspended after entrepreneur dies during plastic surgery

Adriele da Silva Pinto, a 31-year-old entrepreneur living in the United States, died in Ilhéus, Bahia, following four aesthetic procedures: a mastectomy with implants, liposculpture, rib remodeling, and plasma jet application. The surgeries were performed by plastic surgeon Rossini Tebaldi Ruback at Hospital Vida Memorial.

The Bahia State Health Secretariat (Sesab) has since suspended the hospital's surgical center, noting that the facility lacked the required sanitary permit to operate a surgical unit. The family has filed a police report, citing concerns over the hospital's infrastructure and the prolonged duration of the surgery.

In a public statement, the surgeon's legal defense attributed the death to malignant hyperthermia, a rare and potentially fatal reaction to anesthetic agents, asserting that all emergency protocols were followed. However, investigations are ongoing, and reports indicate that Ruback has faced over 40 complaints regarding medical errors and patient complications in previous years.