Tattoo artist has arm amputated after having liposculpture surgery: 'My dream was taken away from me'

Tattoo artist Camila Gama, 41, has been experiencing drama since she decided to have liposculpture surgery in Goiânia. A resident of the city of Raleigh, in the United States, Camila was born and raised in the capital of Goiás and came to Brazil to undergo the procedure. Days later, she had her right arm amputated due to complications.

“I suffer from having lost my profession. I love living in the United States, the opportunity here is slow, it takes many years to reach your dream and, when I was exploding, at the apex, my dream was ripped away from me”, he vented.

Camila described that she had the surgery at a private hospital in the capital, five days later she started to feel sick, she was diagnosed with anemia and had to take medication into a vein. The tattoo artist said that, due to a possible error in the application of the medicine, she developed a thrombosis, which caused the amputation.

“I can’t pinpoint blame, but it all started after the medicine, that doctor [um anestesista que estava de plantão] took the vein that was close to the artery and dropped residues of the medicine in it”, he said.

G1 heard a cardiovascular surgeon who explained that, although rare, an error in the puncture itself (the act of inserting the needle) can cause thrombosis, regardless of the medication.

Tattoo artist Camila Gama Braga de Oliveira had her arm amputated due to complications after surgery in Goiânia — Photo: Personal Archive/Camila Gama

The case began to be investigated by the Civil Police this month. To the g1the delegate Wellington Ferreira, responsible for the case, said that the investigation has already begun, that Camila was heard and underwent a forensic examination, but is awaiting the expert report.

The reported crime was bodily injury, but there is still no information on which doctor will respond, whether the one who performed the plastic surgery, or who applied the medicine, who prescribed the medicine or any other professional involved.

What the hospital, the doctor and Camila’s defense say

In a note, the hospital said that it is aware of Camila’s case and that it provided the best service, that there was no failure in the care of the anesthesiologist who accessed Camila’s vein or the nursing team that applied the medicine. . The hospital said it has no employment relationship with the plastic surgeon, “removing any objective responsibility from the hospital unit” and that the anesthetist is part of a company contracted by the hospital.

The hospital also stated that it is collaborating with the investigations and the doctor’s conduct will be analyzed by official authorities. (See full note at end of article).

The plastic surgeon’s defense said that he cannot give technical details about the case due to medical confidentiality, but that what happened to Camila is a complication that has no connection with the surgery and all precautions were taken during the treatment. The doctor informed that he is at the disposal of the Justice for clarifications (read the full note at the end of the article).

g1 asked the company where the anesthetist is hired for a position, but did not receive a response until the last update of this report.

Camila’s lawyer, Fabrício Póvoa said he made a criminal representation and filed a police report to investigate any medical error or negligent conduct. On TV Anhanguera, the professional said that it is necessary to investigate what caused Camila’s discomfort after the surgery, which required the application of the medicine in a vein.

“According to Camila’s information, an anticoagulant was given to her right after the plastic surgery and, according to her, this medication should be prescribed 30 days in advance”, she pointed out.

Surgery

Camila said that the doctor who performed the plastic surgery stayed by her side throughout the process, even during the amputation, even though he was not responsible for the procedure. The tattoo artist narrated that she met the professional through referrals from friends and family and did all the necessary tests before the liposculpture.

“Before that I had nothing, I’ve had more than 8 surgeries before, including plastic surgery, my family has no history of thrombosis, after that I had 19 thrombosis exams and all were negative. A report on the amputated hand said that my artery was destroyed by ‘something unknown,’” she said.

case details

Camila said that she arrived in Brazil on March 9 of this year, underwent some tests and had an operation on the 13th of the same month. According to the tattoo artist, five days later “the terror began”, after she felt sick and returned to the hospital. There, she said she was diagnosed with anemia, took two bags of blood and went home.

At home, Camila said that she continued to feel sick and began to lose her body movements. So she went back to the hospital. The doctor who performed the plastic surgery wasn’t there, so she had to be seen by an on-call doctor, who prescribed an iron-based medicine, according to the tattoo artist’s report.

“The nurses punctured it several times and were unable to [achar a veia], I went down to the operating room and there was an anesthesiologist on duty, he took the vein and the nightmare started. It started to hurt and a little while later my hand was all black with necrosis”, he said.

Hand of tattoo artist Camila Gama Braga de Oliveira, who had her arm amputated due to complications after surgery in Goiânia Goiás — Photo: Personal Archive/Camila Gama

For Camila, there was negligence on the part of the hospital that did the plastic surgery. “I screamed in pain, my mother pressed the little button, the nurses did not come, they said that it was normal to feel pain with this medicine, the hospital did not have an ounce of empathy. I asked them to take it off and they said it was normal,” she said.

After a message from Camila’s mother, the doctor responsible for the plastic surgery arrived quickly at the hospital accompanied by a cardiovascular surgeon and an ambulance. The tattoo artist was transferred to another hospital where she had two surgeries, but she said the doctors didn’t know what else to do with her case and the family decided to take her to a third hospital.

“I spent 11 days in the ICU taking morphine 6 times a day, in a lot of pain, until I couldn’t take it anymore. The doctors said it would have to amputate anyway, but they were trying to amputate less, because the thrombosis was already in the shoulder, one step away from going to the heart or brain, ”she explained.

According to Camila, she took a drug from the United States during the 11 days of hospitalization to try to “reduce” the thrombosis. It was then that the doctors were able to amputate not at the shoulder, but from the elbow down.

Help

At g1, the tattoo artist vented about having lost her source of income. To help Camila get back on her feet, the son created a crowdfunding, which is posted on her Instagram. Camila said that she needs to buy a prosthetic arm which, in the United States, costs over $100,000.

“I was very popular here in the United States, I had a wonderful studio, I had many clients, I didn’t just lose my arm, I lost my dream of 9 years, my studio, my clients, the way I kept myself…”, lamented.

Hospital note in full

The hospital, regarding the aesthetic surgery of liposculpture and bodytitis, which acts, in turn, in the elimination of fat in a minimally evasive way, carried out at its headquarters, on 03/13/2023, initially, is absolutely sensitized with the patient Camila Gama Braga de Oliveira.

In the context related to good hospital practices, the best provision of services was carried out, without any civil liability, vehemently denying – from the puncture of the artery by an anesthesiologist (peripheral venous access in the right upper limb), according to medical prescription, with the respective administration of the drug (NORIPURUM) by the nursing staff and without intercurrences – any defect in the services provided there, not forgetting that there is no employment relationship or subordination with the plastic surgeon, thus removing, in any case, any objective responsibility of the hospital unit.

The doctor’s conduct will be analyzed, in an expert examination, by official bodies and authorities, and will certainly bring, at the end of the day, a reason for judgment about the causes and effects of the specific case, showing, with evidence, whether or not there is causal link, with negligence, imprudence or malpractice actions.

It is obvious that any pre-judgment about unproven facts is mere speculation.

The hospital, in reiteration, deeply regrets what happened, although its absence of responsibility is evident, whether of a civil or even criminal nature, and informs that it will collaborate with the investigations conducted by the competent authorities.

Therefore, the final pronouncement of the police authorities is awaited, so that a technical statement can be made.

Plastic surgeon’s note in full

The plastic surgeon clarifies, through his lawyer Vera Lúcia Sanches Santos, OAB/GO 33.476, that he is at the disposal of justice for more information about the care provided to the patient Camila Gama Braga de Oliveira.

The patient in question questions the care provided during a surgical procedure. It happens that, due to the duty of secrecy, the physician cannot provide further technical details about the case, under penalty of infringing ethical provisions of the Code of Medical Ethics as well as the Brazilian Penal Code.

However, we must clarify here that what affected the patient was a complication that does not refer to the surgery, and that all precautions were adopted when attending the doctor in question.

Thus, the doctor is available to justice and Mrs. Camila for any further clarification.