An anesthesiologist who was arrested in connection with the death of a British woman following a botched £6,000 boob job at a clinic in Spain was already in prison for the manslaughter of another patient.
Mateo Verd Vallespir, 69, was read his rights after being pulled out of prison and was accused of gross negligence manslaughter in the fresh case of alleged malpractice at the clinic on the island of Majorca.
The unnamed Brit, believed to have been in her thirties when she died last year, paid thousands of pounds to have breast implant replacement surgery and suffered a cardiac arrest immediately after the operation on September 13 then died in intensive care two weeks later.
Island paper Ultima Hora reported last December that the woman had a congenital heart defect, meaning 25 per cent of her heart did not work properly.
Vallespir, a martial arts expert, was pictured for the first time as Spanish police confirmed he flouted a medical ban linked to other offences and continued operating before he was ordered to start serving his prison terms.
He was handed a one-year sentence behind bars and given a three-year striking-off order that banned him from working as a health practitioner or running medical clinics.
Vallespir, who taught Aikido before being jailed, was convicted of manslaughter following the death of Fatima Cherkaoui, 45, on March 7, 2017, one day after a liposuction procedure.
The anesthesiologist was involved with the operation at another medical center he ran in Palma before he took over management at Clinica Luz, also in the city, where the British woman had the cosmetic surgery procedure.
Spanish judges concluded those involved in the operation were medically negligent and that it led to the British woman to suffer a heart attack and hemorrhaging.
Vallespir had been sentenced to two-and-a-half years imprisonment at the end of 2021 for using unqualified staff to perform nursing duties at the clinic where Fatima died. Local outlets reported cleaning staff were asked to take blood from patients.
He was not ordered to start serving his sentences immediately as countries like Spain allow convicted criminals to be spared pending possible appeals.
Police in Majorca said Vallespir had allegedly taken advantage of the delay to take part in the British woman’s botched operation. The surgeon who carried out the operation cannot be arrested as he died of an illness last year.
A spokesman for the National Police in Majorca confirmed the arrest, adding: “National Police officers have arrested a 69-year-old man responsible for managing a clinic in Palma where he also worked as a practitioner, for crimes of gross negligence manslaughter and breaching a medical ban following the death of a patient.
“A young woman of British origin underwent cosmetic surgery at a clinic in Palma. During the operation, and for reasons which are still being investigated, the victim went into cardiac arrest and had to be transferred urgently to Son Espases University Hospital.
“After being admitted to intensive care for almost two weeks, she died on September 13 last year as a result of the serious injuries she suffered during her cardiac arrest.”
The National Police in Majorca said the woman’s family had lodged a complaint against those involved in the surgery and added: “Our homicide unit began an investigation and after gathering together all the documentation related to the medical intervention and taking statements from health professionals, arrested the director of the clinic who was also a medical practitioner.
“Investigators have accused one of the other two health professionals who participated in the surgery of the same type of manslaughter crime as the clinic director. The other man cannot be accused of any crime due to his sudden death two months after the surgery.”
Police said multiple irregularities had been found during the investigation which involved the victim “asking the health professionals to practice a second cosmetic procedure as she went into the operating room.” They allegedly agreed to perform it without telling thenwoman about the risks.
“It was when they were preparing to perform that second surgery that the victim went into cardiac arrest,” police added. “Another irregularity detected was that the patient signed consent forms for the scheduled surgery the morning the surgery took place and were written in Spanish when the British woman according to her family didn’t know how to read Spanish.”
Ultima Hora described the woman as a “young” PR specialist who planned to move to Australia where she planned to work for three months following the surgery.
The surgeon who died last year was described as a “foreign” man who flew to Majorca where he had “worked for decades” to perform the surgery but his nationality was not made public.
Clinica Luz remains open and a receptionist who answered the phone yesterday declined to comment. There is no suggestion current managers are involved in any alleged wrongdoing over the British woman’s death.
The clinic boasted on its website it is “in harmony with the patient and the environment that surrounds us.” It added: “At Clinica Luz we are differentiated by a medical care that is very focused on each patient with the warmth and comfort of doing so in an ideal environment.
