Rosa, 26, had traveled to Miami to undergo a Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) and to celebrate her birthday, her family told NBC6 South Florida. She reportedly paid $7,495 for the surgery at Prestige Plastic Surgery Clinic, which involved transferring fat from 12 areas of her body to her buttocks.
According to her sister, Anamin Vazquez, Rosa was discharged just an hour after the operation and soon began experiencing severe pain. The day after the procedure, March 22—her birthday—she stopped responding to messages. She was found unresponsive the following morning in a bathroom by a friend, who attempted CPR but was unsuccessful.
The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death to be a pulmonary embolism caused by blood clots linked to the surgery.
Vazquez said the family had no idea Rosa was undergoing the procedure and believed she was in Miami to celebrate her birthday. Rosa had recently returned from a deployment in Kuwait and had aspirations to join the FBI. “She had such a bright and promising future,” her sister said, calling her death a “cautionary tale” for others considering similar surgeries.
The New Orleans Police Department honored Rosa in a statement, calling her “a cherished member of our NOPD family” who served “with integrity, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to the people of New Orleans.”
Rosa’s former teacher remembered her as one of the “kindest, most compassionate” people he had ever met.
PEOPLE reached out to Prestige Plastic Surgery Clinic and the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office but did not receive an immediate response.
