Catherine Cando Cornejo (June 7, 1995 – January 10, 2015) was an

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

ean beauty queen who won the Queen of Durán

pageant Pageant(s) or The Pageant(s) may refer to: Events * Procession or ceremony in elaborate costume * Beauty pageant, or beauty contest * List of pageants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints * Medieval pageant, a narrative medieval pro ...

. A prize for the winner was a free liposuction procedure. Cando died as a result of complications during the operation at the age of 19.

Background

Catherine Cando Cornejo was the youngest of five children and grew up in Durán Canton, Ecuador. Cando was studying medicine at the Catholic University of Guayaquil with an interest in social work and helping the elderly. While a student, her sister-in law encouraged her to enter the Queen of Durán contest. She won the contest in October 2014. One of the pageant's prizes was a plastic surgery procedure. Cando reportedly refused the procedure at first. At the pageant, she met Dr Ecuador, a plastic surgeon who was a

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

on the pageant's panel. Ecuador allegedly convinced Cando to undergo the liposuction procedure, with promises that she might become his assistant at some later time. Cando died on the operating table during the liposuction procedure by Dr. Gustavo B. She was 19 years old. Ecuador told Cando's family that the cause was brain

edema Edema (American English), also spelled oedema (British English), and also known as fluid retention, swelling, dropsy and hydropsy, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue (biology), tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. S ...

, but staff later stated the cause of death was

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

as the result of a botched operation. Later, Cando's family learned that the doctor performing the surgery did not have a license to perform the surgery and the clinic where the procedure took placed did not have a permit for these procedures. Cando was buried at the Parque de la Paz cemetery next to

Sharon la Hechicera Sharon "La Hechicera" (Sharon the Sorceress), also known by the nicknames La Reina de la Tecnocumbia, La Diva, and La Diva Criolla (born Edith Rosario Bermeo Cisneros; 28 March 1977 – 4 January 2015), was an Ecuadorian television actress, pre ...

Aftermath

Cando's death sparked outrage in Ecuador against plastic surgery. After Cando's death, two doctors involved in the operation were arrested. In March 2015, Cando's body was exhumed to perform a new forensic autopsy. In June 2016, the La Merced Prosecutor dismissed the case, arguing that no crime had been committed and that Cando had died of anaphylactic shock. Cando's family rejected the prosecutor's claims, arguing that six of the eight doctors involved in the investigation were not accredited. In December 2016, 21-year-old Mexican model Melanie Johanna Montenegro Robles died under similar circumstances at a Guayaquil plastic surgery clinic. After her death, the families of both Montenegro Robles and Cando came together to demand justice for victims of medical malpractice.

References

1995 births 2015 deaths Ecuadorian beauty pageant winners {{pageant-bio-stub Cosmetic surgery 2015 controversies Deaths from surgical complications Medical scandals People from Durán, Ecuador

Background

Aftermath

See also

References