An American woman known as “the Black Madam” performed deadly cosmetic surgery on a Hackney dancer in an airport hotel room, then used glue to close the wounds and left when the client went into respiratory distress, witnesses claim.

A judge upheld a third-degree murder charge against Padge Gordon after Theresa Gyamfi, a friend of Claudia Aderomiti, the dancer gave evidence about getting silicone injections on February 7 last year to enlarge their buttocks.

She said 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 Londoners had no contact information for the woman they had met through an intermediary online and knew only as “Lillian”.

Ms Gyamfi, 22, said they had had the same procedure at the hands pf Gordon at the hotel months earlier and had no problems, and had come back for a “touch-up”.

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

Gordon, who remains in jail on a $750,000 bond, looked down at the defence table when Ms Gyamfi described learning of her friend’s death and viewing the body at the hospital.

The court heard Gordon 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.

Ms Gyamfi added she and her friend thought Gordon was a nurse. But Mannix questioned whether they really thought they were signing up for a legal procedure.

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 those medical conclusions at trial, along with allegations that his client performed the injections.

Gordon, also known as Padge Windslowe, is also charged with practising medicine without a licence.

Police believe she has performed at least 14 cosmetic surgeries, moving locations and using different names to avoid detection. They investigated Ms Aderotimi’s death, with help from the US Food and Drug Administration, before filing the murder charges.

In the meantime, Gordon was charged with aggravated assault for allegedly injuring an exotic dancer at a New Year’s Eve 2011 “pumping party” in Philadelphia, when she allegedly injected a group of dancers on a dining room table.

One dancer spent two weeks in hospital with respiratory problems after silicone particles attached to her lungs were too small to remove surgically, her doctor has said.

In court, Ms Gyamfi explained why she and her childhood friend travelled to the US.

“We basically came here to get injections to enhance our figures,” she said.

They also were celebrating Ms Aderotimi’s upcoming birthday on the second trip. They paid Gordon about $2,000 each on the first trip and $1,800 on the second trip for the injections.

Third-degree murder carries a potential 20 to 40-year sentence.

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

“That is ... clear, clear evidence of malice, and disregard of the known and unknown risks she caused to other unknown women.”