28-Year-Old Mother Dies At Alleged ‘Illegal’ Post-Plastic Surgery Home Following BBL

Miami Police are investigating the tragic death of 28-year-old mother, Ahmonique Miller, who traveled from Las Vegas to Miami to undergo a cosmetic procedure, but died while recovering at what authorities believe to be “an illegal post-plastic surgery recovery home,” according to NBC Miami. 

Per Black Girl Unlost, in a social media video posted shortly before undergoing her second Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) at Avana Plastic Surgery Clinic, Miller said she was “excited” to get the procedure done along with HD Lipo, Arm Lipo, and J-Plasma (also known as Renuvion), a minimally invasive skin-tightening treatment. 

Barnes claimed Miller was given Percocets at the recovery house.

The mother of one was accompanied by her 19-year-old sister Kiera Barnes who also received cosmetic work at the clinic, but what started as an exciting trip quickly turned into a traumatic event, when Miller passed away while staying at a post-surgery recovery home operating as Keyla’s Recovery House, located on South West 4th Street. 

Wakeelah, the mother of Barnes and Miller, told NBC Miami that the sibling duo paid $1,500 each to stay at Keyla’s Recovery House for six nights, but Miller never made it out. On March 7, Miami Police arrived at the recovery home to find the mother of one lying face down on a bed, heavily bandaged and dead, showing signs of rigor mortis. 

Barnes told her mother that someone at the recovery home allegedly gave her sister “a muscle relaxer” or “possibly multiple Percocets,” to help her relax. Miller went to sleep but never woke up. 

“I have to remind myself every day that this is real,” Wakeelah said. “She’s not calling, she’s not going to send a text and that…  Ahmonique is not coming back.”

BBLs are risky procedures.

BBLs carry significant risks, as fat injected during the procedure can accidentally enter the bloodstream and block a vessel in the lungs, causing a potentially fatal pulmonary embolism, according to the NHS. In addition to the general risks associated with surgical fat transfer, BBLs pose specific dangers such as severe skin infections (like cellulitis) and lumpy, uneven scarring (known as contour deformity). A 2017 study revealed a mortality rate of 1 in 3,000 for BBL procedures.

Between 2010 and 2022, South Florida reported 25 deaths related to BBL fat embolisms. Alarmingly, 14 of those occurred after the release of updated safety guidelines in 2018 by the Aesthetic Surgery Education and Research Foundation, and the Florida Board of Medicine’s 2019 mandate requiring fat injections to remain strictly within the subcutaneous layer, according to a study published in The Oxford Academic. It suggested that clinic working conditions and unusually short surgical times may be major contributing factors to the region’s BBL-related mortality.

Authorities believe Keyla’s Recovery House is operating illegally.

It’s unclear what happened to Miller, but authorities believe that Keyla’s Recovery House is operating illegally. According to records from the Florida Department of Health obtained by the Miami Herald, Keyla Oliver, the owner of Keyla’s Recovery House, is not licensed as a medical professional. Furthermore, there is no state corporate filing or assisted living facility registration for Keyla’s Recovery House. 

However, state business records show that Oliver is the owner of Keyla’s Services LLC, a Florida limited liability company that was formed on March 22, 2017.

Jahra McLawrence, an attorney for Miller’s family, told NBC Miami that when police arrived at Keyla’s Recovery House, someone on site claimed Miller was “fine” and that nothing was wrong.

“But once they realized that she had passed away, then it wasn’t that they treated it like an emergency, but panic started to set in,” he alleged.

In a video posted to social media on March 11 by her current caregiver, CoutureBodyCulture (CC), Barnes said she and her sister stayed at Keyla’s Recovery House for two days before Miller’s passing. She alleged that Keyla “unlawfully” gave her sister Percocets that were not prescribed by Miller’s doctor at Avana Plastic Surgery Clinic.

“They never picked up my sister’s prescription. Someone contacted Keyla asking where was my sister’s meds. She said the pharmacy where it was at, which means she never picked up my sister’s prescription. She was in pain just how I was and Keyla took advantage of that.” 

Barnes went on to accuse Keyla of putting the Percocets into Miller’s mouth without her consent.

“She did not put them in my sister’s hand, any of that… she put them in my sister’s mouth and gave my sister the pills. I just remember my sister going to sleep. My sister never woke up.”

The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner has not connected any medications to Ahmonique’s death, noted NBC Miami. The cause and manner of the beloved mother’s death are still under investigation.

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