'Dr Bumbum' charged over death of patient after operation
Prosecutors in Rio de Janeiro have charged a celebrity plastic surgeon known as “Dr Bumbum” and his mother with homicide for carrying out an aesthetic procedure that caused the death of one of his patients and was conducted in his apartment.
Denis Furtado, 45, was arrested in July in the upmarket, beachside neighbourhood of Barra da Tijuca where he performed a buttock-enhancing treatment on bank manager Lilian Calixto, 46, who died hours later.
Prosecutors charged Furtado, his mother, his girlfriend and secretary Renata Fernandes and domestic employee, Rosilane da Silva with homicide.
In a statement, they said that Furtado, helped by the others, had injected 300ml of Poly (methyl methacrylate), or PMMA, a synthetic resin also known as acrylic glass filler into Calixto’s buttocks – more than the recommended quantity “when the recommendation is for use in small doses and with restrictions”.
This created a “prohibited risk”, elevated by the fact that the “invasive procedure” was carried out in an Furtado’s apartment which was “provisionally and precariously adapted to attend patients,” the statement said, “assuming the risk of the result of his conduct, that is, the death of the victim.”
The case generated headlines in Brazil and in July police tweeted a photo of Furtado and his mother, Maria Fátima Barros, in custody, after arresting them while Furtado posted Instagram videos proclaiming his innocence.
Furtado was a celebrity who revelled in his nickname in social media posts. He had more than 600,000 followers on his Instagram account and a further 44,000 on his Facebook page and used both to publish “before” and “after” photos of his treatments.
He had also posted about buttockenhancing treatments using PMMA despite warnings issued by the Brazilian Plastic Surgery Society over its use.
“With an expressive number of followers on social media, ‘Dr Bumbum’ attracted women with the false promise of easy and immediate beauty,” prosecutors said.
Furtado and his mother had remained at large for five days following Calixto’s death. They sought a judicial order to remain free while their case proceeded, but were turned down by a Rio court and later arrested. The prosecutors’ charges now need to be accepted by a judge before any trial can take place and penalties could reach 30 years.
Prosecutors said Maria Fatima Barros presented herself as a doctor, but her medical licence to practice in Rio had been suspended. Furtado was licensed to practice in Brasília and the nearby state of Goiás, they said, but not in Rio, nor was he a specialised plastic surgeon.
Relatives told local media that Lilian Calixot said that she was going to Rio for a simple procedure without saying what it was and expected to be back that night.
According to the G1 news site, a medical report by the Barra D’Or private hospital showed she had arrived lucid, was showing signs of tachycardia, difficulties in breaching and was sweating. The hospital refused to comment.
In a press conference in July in Brasília, Furtado’s lawyer Naiara Baldanza said her client was innocent.
“For every truth there is a parallel truth,” she told reporters. “Many facts have surfaced and I am sure we will show the innocence of Dr Denis.”
In videos published on his Instagram account the day he was arrested, Furtado said he was being treated unjustly.
“As everyone knows, an accident happened,” he said, adding a patient had left his consulting room after a treatment to her buttocks that he had performed many times. He then said he took Calixto to hospital where she had a heart attack.