A second Black woman has passed away after undergoing a weight loss surgery procedure in Tijuana, Mexico on May 27. 34-year-old Mississippi resident, Markita ‘Kiki’ McIntyre traveled to have the low-cost surgery to remove 80% of her stomach through a sleeve gastrectomy.

McIntyre, a mother of 3 young children, and her close friend Francesca Moultrie planned to go through with the procedures together, however, Moultrie backed out at the last minute. Now, she is devastated from her friend’s tragic passing.

“I talked to my friend throughout the entire process,” Moultrie recalled in an interview. “We talked every day, and she was asking questions every day in the group, so she was very knowledgeable. I asked her how she was doing, and she said she was okay. I had posted something on Facebook, and she laughed at it. I was going to talk to her after surgery around 2 or 3 pm.”

Sadly, around 5pm that day, Moultrie received a phone call from McIntyre’s husband stating she had passed.

As we previously reported, Keuana Weaver, 38, died on the operating table at Art Siluette Aesthetic Surgery in Tijuana on Jan. 29. A third woman, who the NY Post identified as Esmeralda Iniguez, received surgery and almost died of septic shock. She has been in and out of the hospital since February, struggling with kidney failure.

In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning after 11 Americans who had weight-loss surgeries in Tijuana returned home with antibiotic-resistant infections; however, many people still decide to indulge in “medical tourism” due to it being a cheaper alternative for surgeries.

As more women travel for these low-cost cosmetic surgeries, one Mississippi surgeon is speaking out and urging others not to travel for these types of surgeries, despite the appealing price tag.

“Highly stop and rethink your options,” said Dr. Donald Balder, certified general surgeon and founder of the Mississippi Institute of Weight Loss Surgery in Gulfport. “We go and buy a car, and we finance, and we don’t really rethink twice about financing it, right? But you’re going to go to another country, that might talk a different language, and you’re going to trust someone to do a surgery for a couple thousand dollars when you can finance your body for $10,000 or $12,0000, so I think they need to give it a second thought.”

There is no word on whether McIntyre went to the same clinic as Weaver or Iniguez. Her family set up a GoFundMe to help raise money for her children. A statement on the page reads:

“Markita was a mother, daughter, sister, cousin and friends with many of us. And we knew exactly who to run to if we needed a “hype man,” a “listener,” a “fixer,” a “Makeup artist” or someone that did not judge but respected the decision you made. Markita left a lasting impression on our lives that we will carry with us. Markita found her purpose in life, she touched lives and through her work, she has helped many feel BEAUTIFUL, CONFIDENT and UNSTOPPABLE. Markita was eager, determined and selfless, she loved US all. Markita will truly be missed, may we never forget her beautiful smile.”

tijuana, mexico

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