What began as a dream makeover turned into a devastating tragedy for Ana Bárbara Buhr Buldrini, a 31-year-old influencer from Mozambique, who died suddenly in Turkey after undergoing plastic surgery just hours after a night out with the very surgeon who operated on her.
Buldrini, who had amassed nearly 800,000 followers on Instagram through her singing and lifestyle content, traveled with her husband, Elgar Miles, to Istanbul last Friday. Her goal: to undergo a combination of breast augmentation, liposuction, and rhinoplasty — procedures she had reportedly agreed to promote on social media in exchange for a deal with Tusa Hospital.
“She wanted to undergo these procedures to improve her aesthetic standards. It was a dream of hers,” Miles told local media.
The couple, who had just tied the knot in May, had initially asked to delay the surgery to allow Ana more time to prepare and recover. But due to scheduling conflicts, the hospital brought the procedure forward to Sunday. According to Miles, the surgery was carried out without proper preparation — and alarmingly, just hours after the couple had partied with the surgeon the night before.
“We went to the clinic just to see the place, but the doctor insisted on performing the procedure immediately,” said Miles, adding that his wife was pressured into agreeing on the spot.
Despite his unease, the surgeon reportedly assured him that there were no risks. Ana was taken into surgery and finished by around 11 p.m. that night.
At first, Miles was sent a post-op photo of Ana still under anesthesia. But when he arrived at the hospital to receive her, he was met with confusion and silence from the staff.
“The assistants were acting strangely. I waited for over an hour with no explanation,” he recounted.
Eventually, the worst possible news came: Ana had gone into cardiac arrest and could not be revived.
“I went down to the ground floor and a doctor said that her heart was beating slowly. Another one told me she was already dead,” Miles said.
The shocking death has since triggered outrage in both Turkey and Mozambique. Turkish police briefly detained medical personnel from the facility, though they were later released. Tusa Hospital has denied wrongdoing, claiming their anesthesiology team made every effort to resuscitate the young woman.
“Despite all efforts by our expert anesthesiology team, the patient could not be resuscitated,” the hospital said in a statement, adding that it is cooperating with authorities in an ongoing investigation.
Critics, however, are calling the incident a glaring example of growing concerns around medical tourism — particularly when influencers promote procedures to large audiences without full transparency or awareness of risk.
Buldrini’s story now joins a growing list of cosmetic surgery tragedies, sparking urgent conversations about informed consent, medical accountability, and the ethical gray zones of influencer marketing deals involving medical procedures.
What was supposed to be a transformation for the next chapter of Ana’s life ended in an unimaginable loss. Her husband is now left not only grieving the sudden death of his bride — but searching for answers.