pelosi.jpg

Stephanie Sanchez, 33, of River Vale died in a New York hospital after undergoing liposuction surgery at Pelosi Medical Center in Bayonne, according to court documents. (Google Maps)

( )

RIVER VALE - A township man has filed suit against a cosmetic surgery practice, claiming his wife and mother of his three children died after undergoing liposuction to remove fat from her upper body.

But the senior doctor of the father and son surgery team at Pelosi Medical Center in Bayonne said the woman's body was unexpectedly invaded by a rare, flesh-eating bacteria that quickly killed her.

"It was an unfortunate complication and it can happen to anybody," Dr. Marco Pelosi II said in an interview last week.

Pelosi and/or his son, Marco Pelosi III, performed liposuction on Stephanie Sanchez, 33, in 2015 and again in 2016, according to a lawsuit filed April 21 in Bergen County Superior Court.

Sanchez died about a week after surgery, according to Robert H. Wolff, a Holmdel attorney representing Sanchez's husband, Christian De Jesus Rosario-Alvarez.

In an affidavit filed with the lawsuit, Dr. Leland Deane of New York, a plastic surgeon who reviewed Sanchez's medical records, states Sanchez underwent an abdominoplasty with liposuction and fat transfer, also called a "tummy tuck," on Oct. 16, 2015, "with apparently no complications."

On Feb. 25, 2016, she underwent a second procedure, referred to in the affidavit as a "bilateral liposuction of the upper extremities" to remove fat from the upper arms. The surgery was performed on a Thursday.

"Over the weekend, (Sanchez) called reporting very severe pain," Deane wrote.

Sanchez's doctors advised her to come to their office on Feb. 29. When they saw her, the doctors noted arm tenderness with fluid accumulation. "The doctor's own note recognizes that the pain was very significant," Deane wrote.

They gave Sanchez an antibiotic and allowed 48 hours to elapse without further treatment, the suit states.

On March 2, Sanchez came back to the Pelosi Medical Center with "unrelenting pain and tenderness and erythema," Deane wrote in the affidavit.

The doctors apparently drained fluid from Sanchez's upper body, but other than that, "there was no change in protocol," Deane wrote.

Later in the day, Sanchez turned up in a hospital emergency room and was found to be suffering from a soft-tissue infection in both upper extremities. She was immediately transferred to Westchester Medical Center in New York, Deane wrote.

On March 3, Sanchez was admitted to the hospital's trauma surgery center, where she was taken into the operating room for "incision and drainage," Deane wrote.

Deane states Sanchez went into septic shock in the intensive care unit and was placed on a ventilator and other medical devices to keep her alive.

Later on March 3, Sanchez suffered a cardiac arrest and multiple organ failures. Doctors were able to restart her heart, but at 8:33 p.m. on March 6, she was declared brain dead, Deane wrote.

"It is my opinion within a reasonable degree of medical certainty that defendants Pelosi Medical Center along with Marco Pelosi II and Marco Pelosi III failed to heed and diagnose, in a timely fashion, the post-operative clinical problems that the patient was manifesting," Deane wrote in the affidavit.

Deane alleges that the father and son "failed to refer the deceased to the hospital, an internist or infectious disease specialist, or others with the knowledge to recognize and appropriately treat an infectious process."

Marco Pelosi II said in an interview last week Sanchez developed necrotizing fasciitis, a rare and serious bacterial skin infection that spreads quickly and kills the body's soft tissue.

Necrotizing fasciitis is commonly known as "flesh-eating bacteria," according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC states the condition can be difficult for doctors to diagnose.

"There may be ulcers, blisters, or black spots on the skin," the CDC states on its website. "Patients often describe their pain as severe and way out of proportion to how the painful area looks when examined by a doctor."

"This bacteria is just mean," Marco Pelosi II said. "In 40 years (of performing liposuction), I have never had a patient develop this complication. There's just not much you can do to prevent it."

Pelosi declined to comment on specific accusations contained in the lawsuit, saying he had not yet been served with legal papers.

Wolff called the situation a "pure tragedy," noting that Rosario-Alvarez has been left to care for three children, including one with special needs.

"It's devastating for all involved," Wolff said.

The suit seeks a jury trial and monetary damages for Sanchez's pain and suffering along with burial expenses.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.