An American woman known as the “Black Madam” performed deadly buttock surgery on a dancer in an airport hotel room, then used glue to close the wounds and left the scene when the client went into respiratory distress, a court heard this week.

A judge upheld a third-degree murder charge against Padge Gordon after Theresa Gyamfi, a friend of dancer Claudia Aderotimi, gave evidence about getting silicone injections on February 7 last year to “enhance their figures”.

She said Ms Gordon, 42, gave them the injections in their room at the Hampton Inn in Philadelphia and left when 20-year-old Claudia, of Geffrye Court, Hoxton, started having trouble breathing.

The friends had no contact information for the woman, who they met online and claim to have thought she was a nurse known only as “Lillian”.

Ms Gyamfi, 22, said she and Ms Aderotimi had the same procedure, costing $2,000 (�1,245) each, at the hands of Ms Gordon at the hotel months earlier. They had no adverse reactions and returned for a $1,800 “touch-up”.

But Ms Aderotimi had trouble breathing almost immediately after the second procedure, Ms Gyamfi said, and she died at a hospital hours later.

The court heard how Ms Gordon, who remains in jail on a $750,000 (�470,000) bond, arrived at the hotel room on February 7, 2011, took needles from a bag and silicone from a jug to enlarge the women’s buttocks and then closed the wounds with cotton balls and glue.

“She took a product meant for industry and food grain and she injected it into a woman who was otherwise healthy, at age 20, who then died,” assistant district attorney Bridget Kirn said.

Referring to the effects of the operation, Delaware County medical examiner Frederic Hellman said the industrial-grade silicone went into the woman’s blood, liver, lungs and brain. He said Ms Aderotimi died of a pulmonary embolism.

Defence lawyer Christopher Mannix said he plans to challenge the medical conclusions at trial, along with allegations that his client performed the injections.

Police believe Ms Gordon – also known as Padge Windslowe – has performed at least 14 cosmetic surgeries using different names to avoid detection.

While being investigated for Ms Aderotimi’s death, she was charged with aggravated assault after allegedly injuring an exotic dancer at a New Year’s Eve 2011 “pumping party” in Philadelphia, during where she is said to have injected a group of dancers on a dining room table.

Third-degree murder carries a potential 20-40 year sentence. Gordon is also charged with practising medicine without a licence.