Plastic surgeon accused of ‘forging’ model Raquel Santos’ death certificate

RAQUEL Santos was obsessed with perfection. The 28-year-old model was willing to pay any price for beauty - even if that price was her life.

A PLASTIC surgeon has been accused of forging the death certificate of a beauty queen who died after undergoing a simple cosmetic procedure known as a “Chinese moustache”.

Raquel Santos, 28, suffered a massive heart attack in January, hours after Dr Wagner Moraes injected fillers into the wrinkles around her mouth.

The Brazilian model and mother-of-two was reportedly obsessed with perfection and believed laugh lines ruined her good looks.

Her friend Debora Azevedo told website G1 that Ms Santos had admitted to a fear of dying mid-operation but submitted to “every aesthetic procedure imaginable” because she was “a slave to vanity”.

Police in Rio de Janeiro allege Dr Moraes fixed Ms Santos’ death certificate to cover up his failure to ask her if she was on any other drugs that might affect the fillers he was using.

They claim he had no legal right to issue a cause of death certificate but did so to hide the fact that he had not checked his patient’s medical record before performing the procedure.

Raquel Santos, 28, was reportedly ‘obsessed’ with achieving physical perfection

According to Midia News, Ms Santos’ funeral was dramatically halted by police, who confiscated her body before it could be buried so that a post mortem examination could be carried out.

The autopsy revealed that she had regularly injected herself with a banned horse stimulant called Potenay to enhance the effect of her gym workouts.

The steroid is regularly used by bodybuilders but can raise blood pressure to dangerous levels.

Police spokesman Mario Jose Lamblet dos Santos told reporters that Ms Santos had been examined by Dr Moraes twice before her death, “once on the day of surgery and again afterwards”.

“During the investigation, we discovered that he only knew she was using anabolics when hospital staff declared her dead,” he said.

Ms Santos was runner-up in the 2015 Musa do Brasil, one of the country’s biggest beauty pageants and was on the path to a successful modelling career.

Her heartbroken husband Gilberto Azevedo told investigators Ms Santos had complained of a rapid heartbeat and breathing difficulties after having the procedure at a clinic in Niteroi, near Rio de Janeiro on January 11.

Ms Santos holds up a drawing from one her two children at the 2015 Musa do Brasil beauty pageant, where she was a finalist.

The model was taken to another medical centre in the same city where she died hours later.

“When we got there, she had a cardiac arrest,” Mr Azevedo told Midia News.

“I believe that if she were in some suitable place to do cosmetic procedure, such as a hospital, she would still be alive.”

Mr Azevedo said his wife’s “quest for beauty” began in 2014 when she had silicone implants in her breasts. The following year she underwent a nose job, a chin implant and cheek contouring.

“She smoked a lot and took many drugs to improve her appearance,” he said. “She took medicine before she worked out and also to (help her) sleep. I think that one more doctor’s negligence caused her death.”

Ms Santos had been warned by her family that she was in danger of becoming addicted to cosmetic surgery.

“I’ve never supported these procedures,” Mr Azevedo said.

“I’ve always said that she was ill and did not need all of this plastic. She was beautiful.”

Dr Moraes has publicly defended his conduct before and after the operation, telling media the complications were likely brought about by Ms Santos’ use of Potenay and her heavy smoking.

Police are continuing their investigations while the family of Ms Santos is reportedly considering legal action against the surgeon.

Ms Santos believed her ‘laugh lines’ marred her beauty.

Ms Santos died in her quest for perfection.

Ms Santos’s death at 28 has devastated her two young children and husband.