Al Jazeera’s Fault Lines released Wednesday a 25-minute documentary covering the deadly Brazilian butt lift surgery industry in Miami, Fla., where some 92 percent of the state’s BBL-related deaths reportedly occur.
“The Price of Perfection; Inside Miami’s Deadly Plastic Surgery Industry,” had been viewed on YouTube more than 42,000 times within a day of its release.
Investigation by Fault Lines revealed a “pattern of surgeons engaging in unsafe practices and lobbying lawmakers to allow them to continue doing so.”
The film focuses on a number of medical providers in the area, all of whom declined to comment, answer a list of questions provided, or otherwise participate in the film, its narrator says.
Since 2015, 21 women have died in Florida during or after Brazilian butt lift surgery, a procedure professionally known as gluteal fat grafting.
Viewers hear from survivors and bereaved relatives, as well as investigators and board-certified surgeons hoping to make a change.
Past patient deaths occurring at or involving providers from Mia Aesthetics, Miami’s Seduction Cosmetic Surgery, and Dr. Sergio Alvarez, are discussed.
Drs Pat Pazmiño, M.D., Alexander Earle, M.D. and KFF Health News’ Daniel Chang feature in the film as experts and advocates for increased regulation.
“No one needs to die from this procedure,” says Pazmiño, whose research revealed that more than 90 percent of the state’s deaths due to gluteal fat grafting occurred at what he calls “high-volume clinics.”
Dr. Pazmiño warns that some of the clinics, once isolated to parts of Miami, are now adopting a franchise model that could bring the same high-mortality-rate treatments to other major cities.
Fault Lines is an American current affairs documentary series produced by Al Jazeera English.