Nigerian socialite Elena Jessica has died after reportedly undergoing a Brazilian butt lift surgery.
Elena’s sister Nelli shared the news of the influencer’s death via TikTok on Saturday, March 7, claiming that Cynosure Aesthetic Plastic Surgery — the facility where Jessica reportedly had her surgery — was to blame.
“Cynosure has finally killed my sister,” Nelli claimed. “My sister went to Cynosure and never came back the same. Now she’s gone. 😭😭All I want is answers. All I want is justice. They can’t silence this. Fly high my sister.”
In the caption, Nelli alleged, “Cynosure has killed a lot of people. Now they’ve killed my sister.”
According to WhatsApp messages allegedly sent by another one of Elena’s sisters and obtained by Nigerian news outlet Premium Times, the content creator underwent her first BBL procedure on February 6 and began to experience pain two days later.
Elena then allegedly received a second surgery on February 13 to remove fat after doctors told her they believed too much fat had been injected during the initial procedure, which may have disrupted blood flow. However, her condition allegedly did not improve, and Jessica was sent to a local hospital.
According to the messages, the hospital was allegedly full, causing Elena to be sent to two more hospitals. The sister claimed in the texts that Elena amassed thousands of dollars in hospital bills, and her family allegedly had to sell their belongings to afford the care.
On Sunday, March 8, Cynosure released a statement disputing the claims that they were at fault for Elena’s death.
“There has been a deliberate attempt to circulate false and damaging information about our clinic. We owe our clients — and the public — the truth,” the statement read. “Despite the significant volume of surgical procedures performed at our facility this year, we have
recorded zero patient deaths to the glory of God. We state this clearly, without equivocation.”
The facility claimed that a “patient” — presumably Elena — had undergone a surgery elsewhere and sought “corrective” care at Cynosure.
“We accepted her care, performed her corrective surgery and monitored her recovery with the diligence our clients deserve,” the statement continued. “However, at about two weeks post-operatively, a decision was reached to refer her for further care and in strict adherence to our standard clinical protocols, the patient was referred to a foremost teaching hospital for further multidisciplinary evaluation and care. This is what any responsible medical facility would do and it’s not unusual.”
Cynosure added that the patient was “subsequently taken to a different facility,” which was a decision made outside their clinic.
“We do hereby empathize with the family of the deceased and we pray for the repose of her soul,” the facility added.
The statement concluded, “We will not allow misinformation to define us. Our results, our records, and our clients speak for themselves. This statement is issued in the interest of public transparency and to correct misinformation currently in circulation in the social media space. Cynosure Aesthetic Plastic Surgery is committed to the highest standards of patient care and ethical practice.”
