FL family speaks out after mom dies during plastic surgery

The death of a Davie, FL mother who stopped breathing during liposuction three days ago is a tragedy that should prompt the state to make surgery offices safer, her family and attorney said Tuesday. Maria Shortall, 38, was a healthy domestic housekeeper who went to Alyne Medical Rejuvenation Institute in Weston to have fat removed from her midsection on Saturday, the family's attorney, Michael Freedland, said at a news conference. The family does not know what went wrong. The family is not now blaming Alyne. Freedland called on the state to toughen the rules to ensure that all cosmetic surgery offices can handle life-threatening emergencies. Shortall is the third cosmetic surgery patient whose death has come to light in Broward County since Christmas. An attorney for the surgery office and Shortall's surgeon, Alyne co-founder Dr. Alberto Sant Antonio, declined to comment on her death.