It’s not uncommon these days to come across doctors and even medical procedures on social media, whether that’s dermatologists popping pimples on YouTube, gynaecologists explaining what a healthy period should look like on TikTok, or cosmetic surgeons giving their two cents on celebrity transformations. But now a Brazilian plastic surgeon has been suspended and faces having her license revoked after her conduct on TikTok.
Caren Trisoglio Garcia, better known as “minhacirurgiaoficial” on the platform where she has 645K followers, is under investigation by the regional medical board in São Paolo for videos of her dancing to upbeat music while waving around large chunks of human flesh and clear bags full of fat which she claims to have removed from her patients. In one video, she holds up a slab of skin with the caption “today’s trophy”, while others see her displaying bags of fat with caption labels like “this is underarm fat”. The videos have since been deleted from her account.
The Regional Medical Board of the State of Sao Paulo suspended Garcia’s medical license after being asked by the president of the Brazilian Society of Plastic Surgery Estefano Luiz Favaretto to take action. The organisation had already handed Garcia a six-month suspension. According to Brazilian media outlet Metropoles, the board considered the videos unethical and sensationalistic and pointed out they violated internal guidelines which prohibit the sharing of images of body parts, even with the authorisation of the patient.
During her suspension, Garcia will not be allowed to take new patients or carry out operations. Further investigations are ongoing and if she is found guilty of medical misconduct her license to practice will be revoked.