In Düsseldorf, two women died from buttock enlargements. The surgeon took far more than the recommended amount of fluid and body fat from them, the court said in the judgment.
The Düsseldorf district court has imposed three years and four months imprisonment on the surgeon for the death of two women after enlargement of their buttocks. The court sentenced the doctor on Tuesday for bodily harm resulting in death in two cases and for abuse of title. In addition, the court imposed a four-year professional ban and ordered the collection of surgery fees in the amount of 26,000 euros.
The patients would have to be “relentlessly informed” about the risks of such operations, said judge Rainer Drees. However, the court was convinced that no such clarification had taken place. “We rule out that the patients would have exposed themselves to the risk if they had known the alternative of two operations,” said the judge. Two of them, 20 and 42 years old, died shortly after the procedure in 2018 and 2019, respectively. The surgeon took far more fluid and body fat from the women than recommended and injected the fat again. This increased the risk of complications enormously compared to the alternative of splitting the buttock enlargement into two more gentle operations.
Defense attorney had demanded acquittal
The defense lawyers of the doctor, who is called “Dr. Po” by the tabloids, had demanded an acquittal. They immediately announced revision. The prosecutor had requested four years and nine months in prison. The doctor had protested his innocence to the end: he had only done with the two patients what he had done with many others.
The court also saw the allegation of misuse of the title as proven: the doctor had used his doctorate without the necessary country suffix “(ir)” for Iran, although he had acquired it there.
The desire for a bigger bottom is making the tills ring for cosmetic surgeons all over the world. The so-called “Brazilian Butt Lift” is particularly popular. With this method, the body’s own fat is sucked off from the abdomen or thighs and injected into the buttocks. However, the method is viewed critically by many plastic surgeons because of its risk. The death rate is put at 1: 3000: If the tiny lumps of fat get into the bloodstream, there is a risk of a fatal embolism. The International Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery reported at the end of last year that buttock surgery showed the highest growth in all surgical interventions worldwide: the number of buttock augmentations increased by 38.4 percent in 2019 compared to the previous year.