Dr. Bumbum on the Run: Celebrity Plastic Surgeon Wanted in Connection to Patient's Death

Dr Bumbum
Police in Brazil are searching for Denis Furtado, who is known as “Dr Bumbum”, after a patient died following plastic surgery. Facebook

A celebrity plastic surgeon has gone on the run in Brazil after a woman died hours after a getting injections to enlarge her bottom.

Denis Furtado is known as "Dr Bumbum" and is a regular on Brazilian television, claiming to have performed over 8,000 bottom-enlargement surgeries.

But Lilian Calixito, 46, from Cuiaba in central Brazil, fell ill after she received injections of acrylic fillers at his apartment in the upmarket Rio de Janeiro suburb of Barra de Tijuca, Agence France Presse reported.

Furtado took her to Hospital Barra D'Or where she died. The cause of the death has not been confirmed, the BBC reported. A warrant is out for his arrest after he disappeared. His girlfriend has been arrested in connection with the death.

Bumb_bum
Police in Brazil are searching for Denis Furtado, who is known as “Dr Bumbum”, after a patient died following plastic surgery. Facebook

The Brazilian news website G1 reported that Furtado, 45, had been charged four times for illegally practicing medicine and crimes against consumers.

Niveo Steffen, president of the Brazilian Plastic Surgery Society, said non-specialists were carrying out plastic surgery and that many women had died from injections of synthetic biopolymers or polymers, like acrylic glass.

"You cannot perform plastic surgery inside an apartment," he told AFP. "Many people are selling a dream, a fantasy to patients in an unethical way and people, weakened, are often attracted to low prices, without considering whether or not the conditions are adequate."

Brazil has the second highest rate of plastic surgeries in the world after the U.S, with around 1.2 million procedures being carried out annually. The government subsidizes nearly half a million procedures per year and plastic surgeries are free or low cost in public hospitals.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular ... Read more

To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.

Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek magazine delivered to your door
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go
Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go