Brazilian plastic surgeon Dr Bumbum charged with murdering patient
Denis Furtado is held after Lilian Calixto died following a procedure at the celebrity surgeon's apartment in Rio de Janeiro.
Thursday 16 August 2018 07:10, UK
Dr Bumbum - a celebrity plastic surgeon from Brazil known for his work on women's bottoms - has been charged with murdering one of his patients.
The surgeon, whose real name is Denis Furtado, went on the run for four days after performing an operation on Lilian Calixto to enlarge her buttocks at his apartment in Barra de Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro.
According to his charge sheet reported in local media, he allegedly used a larger than advisable dose of a chemical during the operation.
Furtado, who amassed 650,000 Instagram followers by posting pictures of his work, was arrested last month.
Police said they found the surgeon, who is allegedly not registered to practice medicine in Rio de Janeiro, in the city following a tip-off.
At a news conference at the police station where he was being held he protested his innocence.
He said: "I have never had a complication (with a patient) and I don't believe that this was the first one."
However, the 45-year-old has now been charged.
He is said to have used 300ml of PMMA - a type acrylic plastic suspended in a solution - during the procedure, according to the charge sheet, which said it was recommended to be used "in very small doses".
Police said mother-of-two Ms Calixto, 46, fell ill during the operation and was taken to a hospital where her condition deteriorated.
She reportedly arrived at the hospital with an abnormally fast heart rate before her death.
Dozens of deaths among women in Latin America have been put down to the use of synthetic polymers such as the one Furtado is alleged to have used.
He has since been denounced by the Brazilian Society of Plastic Surgery, with its president admitting that the country - which is second only to the US for the number of procedures carried out - has a problem.
Furtado's mother Maria de Fatima Barros Furtado is also facing charges after she allegedly continued to practice and operate with her son after her medical licence was taken away.
The surgeon's girlfriend, Renata Fernandes, and his maid, Rosilane Preiera da Silva, have also been arrested on suspicion of taking part in the operation.