Breast Surgery Costs Teenager Her Life

By Anna Boyd
11:48, March 26th 2008
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Breast Surgery Costs Teenager Her Life

A South Florida teenager who was captain of her high school cheerleading squad and had everything going for her and a bright future ahead, died after corrective breast surgery, a family attorney said Tuesday.

Stephanie Kuleba, 18, a student at West Boca High School in Palm Beach, died Saturday, about 24 hours after her surgery after having a bad reaction to anesthesia medication given to her during the surgery, meant to correct asymmetrical breasts and an inverted areola.

“She went in for surgery at 8:05 in the morning, by 9:45, an hour and 40 minutes later, the paramedics had been called and she had been rushed to Delray Medical Center where, basically, 24 hours later, she died,” the family attorney, Roberto Stanziale told WPBF News 25.

According to the medical examiner’s office, Kuleba died from malignant hyperthermia, a condition that can be triggered by certain anesthesia where the body heats up to dangerous levels, Stanziale added.

“This was something that was believed to be a routine procedure. There was never any indication that she was not going to walk out of that surgical suite. It's obviously devastating,” said Stanziale who added it was too early to determine if any legal action would be taken.

Board-certificate plastic surgeon Stephen Schuster who preformed the surgery at an outpatient facility in Boca Raton expressed his shock in a statement saying: “I am devastated by the loss and I feel for the family,” ABC News reported.

“It’s hard to believe she’s gone. She just made everybody’s day by having a good attitude about life,” said Kuleba’s classmate Vanessa Villegas for the New York Daily News.

Kuleba’s family is still waiting for a definite answer about their daughter’s death, but they cannot ignore the cruel irony that their daughter aspired to become a plastic surgeon.

Kuleba's funeral will be held Wednesday at 10 a.m. at St. Jude's Catholic Church located at 21689 Toledo Road in Boca Raton.



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