Plastic surgeon 'Dr. Bumbum' arrested in Brazil after patient dies following butt enhancement surgery

Joel Shannon | USA TODAY

A Brazilian plastic surgeon with a vibrant social media presence was arrested on Thursday in connection with the death of a patient.

Denis Furtado was performing a procedure to enlarge a patient's buttocks at his Rio de Janeiro home Saturday when the patient fell ill. He's accused of dropping her at the hospital and going on the run for five days, according to AFP.

Furtado has embraced the label "Dr. Bumbum" on social media, where hundreds of thousands of people follow him. "Bumbum" is Portuguese slang for backside.

Days before the patient's death, Furtado posted a before and after picture of a buttocks enhancement. The Instagram post began, "Dr. Bumbum teaches."

Speaking with reporters, Furtado claimed he was innocent of wrongdoing "There was an occurrence with the patient," he said.

It is too soon to conclude Furtado was responsible for the death, the doctor's lawyer, Naiara Baldanza, said in a statement.

Furtado has posted about using a chemical commonly know as PMMA in buttock-enhancing treatments. The Brazilian Plastic Surgery Society has warned against the chemical, according to The Guardian.

While Furtado was licensed to practice in some areas of the country, he was not in Rio, where the incident occurred, the publication reports. He was also not a trained plastic surgeon, the Brazilian Plastic Surgery Society told The Guardian.

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That society quickly denounced Furtado, citing a "growing invasion of non-specialists" according to AFP.

"You cannot perform plastic surgery inside an apartment," Niveo Steffen, the organization's president, told AFP.

Police have not yet determined her exact cause of the victim's death.

Maria de Fatima Barros — Furtado's mother who worked with him — was also arrested.

Contributing: The Associated Press