(L.A.) Marisa Brown, 36, Died in a Hospital

Case Number: 2013-03206

Los Angeles County is reporting the death of a 36-year-old Latin American female that occurred in a hospital.

The coroner’s office identified the woman as Marisa Brown.

Manner of Death: Accident

Cause of Death A: Fat Embolism

Cause of Death B: Status Post Transumbilical Breast Augmentation Procedure

Other Significant Conditions: Idiopathic Cardiomyopathy; Fatty Liver

RIP MARISA BROWN (February 3, 1977 – May 1, 2013)

Formal pronouncement of death was made on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m.

The decedent underwent a so-called “belly button” breast augmentation, an elective cosmetic procedure. To avoid visible scars, the surgeon made a single incision inside the navel and tunneled upward beneath the skin to the breasts. The main advantage was aesthetic—eliminating scars around the areolae. However, the risk proved fatal: she suffered a fat embolism, a catastrophic complication from a surgery that offered no medical benefit.