One of the UK’s top cosmetic surgeons ha issued a stark warning over rogue practitioners performing risky procedures.
Former BAAPS President, Rajiv Grover, told MailOnline that falsifying qualifications is ‘easy’ within the industry – and urges prospective patients to be more scrupulous on their choice of specialist.
It follows the sensational arrest of Rio de Janiero’s Dr Denis Furtado, AKA Brazilian plastic surgeon Dr Bumbum, earlier this month. He was detained after allegedly giving patient Lilian Calixto a fatal injection of PMMA filler – a synthetic resin also known as acrylic glass filler.
Soon afterwards, she fell ill and began gasping for air. Furtado took her to the local Barra D’Or hospital, where she was admitted at 11pm in an ‘extremely severe condition, unresponsive to manoeuvres’.
However, despite the efforts of hospital staff, she died at 1am the next morning.
Furtado is now charged with her murder.
Warning: Comes after Dr Denis Furtado – AKA Dr Bumbum – was arrested in Rio de Janeiro
Urging others to be more careful in light of this, Dr Grover said the trend of doctors performing outside of their remit is relatively common.
In fact, he says it’s an area of cosmetic surgery that ‘continues to flourish’.
‘The British Association of Aesthetic and Plastic Surgeons is unable to comment on individual cases, and this is of paramount importance when criminal behaviour may be involved,’ he said.
‘Nevertheless, this appalling account must be used as an opportunity to educate about the dangers of practices that BAAPS has previously condemned, but which continue to flourish.
‘The Brazilian Plastic Surgery Society have confirmed that Dr Furtado was not a trained plastic surgeon, and have stated that procedures should never be carried out in private homes [which Calixto’s was].’
Ironically, Ms Calixto’s stepdaughter, Alessandro Jambert, told Brazil’s Extra newspaper sh’d chosen to have the procedure with Furtado ‘on the recommendation of others’.
She said: ‘Her friends did it, liked it and recommended him. He is a really famous doctor, and she was going to have it done in his own apartment.’
This scenario, Grover stresses, has become increasingly possible because surgeons can easily achieve ‘celebrity’ status via social media – which people confuse with capability.
‘It’s impossible to consider this case without acknowledging Dr Furtado`s tremendous 650,000 Instagram followers, which is thus encouraging him being described as a celebrity,’ he adds.
‘This should be a wake-up call – not only to prospective patients, who must realise that popularity does not equal qualifications, but also to those who regulate advertising.’
He added that cosmetic surgery and aesthetic medicine marketing efforts on social media are not monitored by the Advertising Standards Authority.
‘This allows clinics` campaigns to target young and vulnerable people in a way that capitalises on negative body image, glamourising the results and never conveying the risks.
Tragic: HSBC bank manager Lilian Calixto, 46, died after visiting Dr Denis Furtado’s home
Risk: Plastic Surgeon and ex-BAAPS President Rajiv Grover (L) says many people are duped by a doctor’s social media popularity. Dr Furtado (R) had 650,000 Instagram followers.
‘We have seen this unconscionable behaviour time and again by even the most-recognised high street surgery chains.
‘The lack of scrutiny or consequences they face sets the tone for smaller, less-accountable clinics – a process that normalises shocking and harmful commoditisation of medical treatment.
‘We urge the ASA as well as the Government to take action to ban these unethical marketing practices, which – as this devastating story demonstrates – is putting lives at risk.’