18 Patients Denounce Dentist For Deforming Faces With Cheap Filler

Cops in Brazil are investigating a dentist for deforming the faces of at least 18 patients with devastating consequences including lost jobs, marriage breakup and ultimately depression.

Giselle de Souza Gomes is accused of carrying out the rogue procedures, which she offered as “profile harmonisation”, in the Brazilian municipality of Campos dos Goytacazes.

Investigators believe Gomes injected her patients with a cheaper substance instead of approved dermal fillers, and the police have seized money, mobile phones and materials from two addresses linked to her.

Newsflash

The victims’ lawyer, Andrea Paes, revealed that some of the women are no longer able to brush their teeth due to the pain, and that others lost their jobs or got divorced because of their deformed faces and the subsequent depression they suffered.

Victim Lana Vellascos, who was diagnosed with depression after she developed an infection from her lip fillers, told local media: “It was very difficult. I suffered a lot. I spent almost four months locked indoors. I couldn’t see anyone.”

Another victim, Camilla Carvalho, was left with a deformed mouth after developing painful lumps following a procedure, and she reportedly nearly lost the tip of her nose in another procedure performed by Gomes.

Newsflash

According to investigators, the substance the dentist used was legal but not recommended for facial harmonisation procedures.

Police officer Nathalia Patrao told local media: “She offered the victims profile harmonisation, saying she would use hyaluronic acid, which is an absorbable and temporary product, and she actually used PMMA, which is a non-absorbable and permanent substance, which can only be removed with plastic surgery.”

According to Patrao, the substance gave the dentist a higher profit margin. She explained: “Where she would spend about BRL 250 to 300 (GBP 34 to 41) using the correct substance, with the irregular one she would spend from BRL 10 to 20 (GBP 1 to 3).”

Newsflash

The dentist’s lawyer, Eduardo Ferraz, has denied any wrongdoing on the part of his client, who he claimed was authorised to carry out the procedures.

However, the materials seized from Gomes by the police included expired products unauthorised by the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency that were purchased from South Korea.

Officers also seized over 1,000 patient records, approximately BRL 68,000 (GBP 9,208) in cash from a safe, a number of cheques and two mobile phones from the two addresses, one of which is the dentist’s home address.

Newsflash

A number of precautionary measures have been taken out against the suspect, such as the seizure of her passport. However, she has not been placed in preventive detention.

She will answer to charges of personal injury, embezzlement and illegal practice of dentistry, and her victims intend to claim compensation for damages caused.

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