A 51-year-old Brazilian businesswoman died hours after a nearly 10-hour session of six facial and neck cosmetic procedures, her family said, prompting a police inquiry into possible negligent homicide and renewed questions about the risks of combining multiple operations under one anesthesia.
Andreia Vieira Gaspar, who had lived in Spain for five years, traveled to Goiânia for the Aug. 11 surgeries at Ankar Hospital. She died in the early hours of Aug. 12. Her sister, Djiane Vieira, said Gaspar had saved for two years and paid 118,000 reais (about $23,000) for a package that included a deep-plane facelift, forehead reduction, chin surgery, eyelid surgery, neck liposuction and fat grafting to the face.
Some social media accounts, including an Instagram post that circulated widely this week, described the package as a “mommy makeover.” That term usually refers to a combination of breast and abdominal procedures after pregnancy. Gaspar’s operations were concentrated on the face and neck.
Gaspar arranged the trip after finding the surgeon, otolaryngologist Dr. Lessandro Martins, on social media. Family members said most planning happened by message and that pre-operative tests were completed in Spain rather than in Brazil. They contend she did not have an in-person consultation with Martins until the morning of surgery. The doctor’s representatives dispute that account and say a consultation occurred and that hormone therapy she had been using was paused before the operation.
A report requested by the family put the start of surgery at 7:45 a.m. and her return to a room around 5:40 p.m. Afterward, her sister said, Gaspar was swollen, short of breath and complained of a sensation of suffocation. Djiane Vieira said she messaged the medical team pleading for help as her sister’s condition worsened. Resuscitation efforts lasted nearly two hours; Gaspar died in her sister’s arms, the family said. They also alleged the hospital lacked a functioning intensive-care unit and an on-site ambulance.
A death verification service listed the cause as acute thrombosis and pulmonary infarction. The Goiás Public Ministry asked civil police to open an inquiry into possible homicide without intent to kill. Gaspar’s body was exhumed Aug. 28 for additional exams. The Goiás Regional Medical Council said it is reviewing complaints against Martins under confidentiality rules. Other former patients have publicly described unsatisfactory results or complications after procedures with the same surgeon; those accounts have not been independently adjudicated.
Martins and Ankar Hospital issued statements of condolence and said they are cooperating with authorities. The hospital’s lawyers said Gaspar received immediate emergency care, that necessary measures were taken, that pre-operative exams were performed externally and that records exist in the chart. Martins’ defense said independent reviews found no causal link between his care and the death and that protocols were followed. Both sides have declined to discuss clinical details publicly, citing medical confidentiality.
Long combined cosmetic operations raise documented risks. Extended time under general anesthesia, large surface areas of surgery and limited ability to respond quickly in smaller facilities can increase the chance of blood clots, pulmonary complications and delayed recognition of deterioration. Brazilian plastic surgery societies have warned against stacking many procedures in a single sitting. Medical tourism and social-media marketing can compress the usual safeguards of in-person evaluation, staged operations and hospital-level backup.
No criminal charges have been announced. Police have said they must examine both the operation itself and the hours that followed. The family has said it wants a full accounting of why a planned “glow-up” ended in death. The doctor and hospital maintain the care met professional standards and that the investigation will show that. Those competing claims will be tested in the inquiry still underway in Goiás.
Flip the pages for photos of Gasper.
