Five years ago Ms. Sepulveda said she paid $2,000 for a series of
10 injections from María Collado, a cosmetologist who had an office
in Hialeah. Ms. Sepulveda said she believed the woman was a dermatologist
who was licensed in the Dominican Republic. After the injections Ms.
Sepulveda's face became swollen and her lips developed irregular lumps,
she said. Ms. Sepulveda's sister, Thelma Vásquez, who had her buttocks
injected by the same practitioner, developed lesions and pus-filled
sores.