Facebook 'Frankenstein' dentist arrested after patients left disfigured
A Facebook 'Frankenstein' dentist has been arrested after patients were left with disfigured lips in botched operations.
Hellen Kacia Matias da Silva was seized by Civil Police in Brazil. over allegations she mutilated patients during banned cut-price aesthetic procedures. She was accused of causing horrific injuries by performing illegal cosmetic surgery.
The aftermath of procedures allegedly performed by dentist da Silva (CEN)
da Silva and three other dentists had been 'selling 'cosmetic procedures' that can only be provided by qualified surgeons, say police (CEN)Horrific photographs of some of the injuries show one patient with an inch-wide open wound under her eye. Another is seen with massive uneven Frankenstein-style stitches under their jaw. And one woman's entire cheek appears to be rotting from an infection following a botched facelift.
Police and prosecutors say da Silva and three other dentists had been selling cosmetic procedures that can only be provided by qualified surgeons under local law. On her social media page, police say da Silva openly advertised her aesthetic surgery offering facelifts, nose shaping and eyelifts at bargain prices.
The moment da Silva was arrested by police for her 'botched' operations (CEN)Police footage of her arrest shows da Silva being led away in handcuffs before she is put into in the back of a patrol truck. Goias Civil Police said in a January 30 statement obtained by CEN: "The investigation indicated that the dentist and three other dentists performed procedures that were expressly prohibited by the Federal Council of Dentistry."
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Police added: "Plastic surgeries were offered on dentists' social media for below-market values, reaching a wide range of people. The investigation also found that the dentist openly sold the surgeries on her Instagram, which has more than 650,000 followers. In addition, she offered courses for other health professionals to perform such surgeries under her 'supervision'."
Footage showed da Silva being led away in handcuffs and put in the back of the police van (CEN)Debora Melo, a police spokeswoman said da Silva's mobile phone records revealed dozens of complaints from horrified patients. One told of a massive scar around an unhealed hole in her nose, another said she was "desperate" over agonising pain in her eyes. In each case da Silva, said cops, dismissed the complaints saying the patient had failed to follow post-surgery care plans.
Despite having no surgery qualifications herself, Melo said she happily trained even less qualified people in how to do the same bungled procedures She added: "In other words, in addition to promoting procedures that are not authorised, they have also taught other professionals how to perform the same procedures."
Police collected statements from 13 victims as well as statements from former employees at the surgery, according to local media. But they say da Silva has at least 40 victims and more may yet come forward. The other three dentists under investigation by police were named as Humberto Lino de Andrade, Ana Clara Franco, and Igor Leonardo Soares Nascimento.
All four dentists have been temporarily suspended and their licences to practice revoked. The investigation is ongoing.
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