AN American woman known as 'the Black Madam' performed deadly cosmetic surgery on an English dancer in an airport hotel room, then used glue to close the wounds, a friend has said.

A judge upheld a third-degree murder charge against Padge Gordon after the dancer's friend gave evidence about getting silicone injections to enlarge their buttocks in February last year.

Theresa Gyamfi said Gordon gave them the injections in their room at the Hampton Inn in Philadelphia and left when 20-year-old Claudia Aderotimi started having trouble breathing.

The two women, both fromLondon, had no contact information for the woman they had met through an intermediary online and knew only as "Lillian".

Ms Gyamfi (22) said they had the same procedure by Gordon at the hotel months earlier and had no problems, and had come back for a "touch-up". Ms Aderotimi had trouble breathing almost immediately after the second procedure, Ms Gyamfi said, and she died in hospital.

Silicone

Gordon, who remains in jail on a $750,000 bond, looked down at the defence table when Ms Gyamfi described learning of her friend's death and viewing the body at the hospital.

Delaware County medical examiner Frederic Hellman said the industrial-grade silicone went into the woman's blood, liver, lungs and brain. He said Ms Aderotimi died of a pulmonary embolism.

Defence lawyer Christopher Mannix said he plans to challenge those medical conclusions at trial, along with allegations that his client performed the injections. The 42-year-old Gordon, also known as Padge Windslowe, is also charged with practising medicine without a licence.

In court, Ms Gyamfi explained why she and her friend travelled to the US.

"We came here to get injections to enhance our figures," she said. They also were celebrating Ms Aderotimi's upcoming birthday on the second trip.

Third-degree murder carries a potential 20- to 40-year sentence.

hnews@herald.ie