00:00Dr. Kevin Mouriu is a board-certified surgeon based in Nairobi, Kenya.
00:08Part of his work focuses on helping patients repair surgeries that didn't go as planned.
00:14We deal with both aesthetic and reconstructive concerns.
00:18Now, usually when people speak about botched surgeries, what they're referring to is a surgery where the outcome of the surgery falls well below the patient's expectations.
00:29Across Sub-Saharan Africa, cosmetic surgery procedures are rising, often faster than regulation and proper reporting.
00:38One procedure stood out for its high risk, the BBL or Brazilian butt lift, raising serious concerns about safety and technique.
00:48The BBL or Brazilian butt lift, or more properly termed in medicine, would be a lipotransfer where fat is transferred from another part of the body into the buttocks.
00:58And traditionally, when this was done blindly, what would happen then was that the risk of a patient developing a clot from the fat that was transferred,
01:07which would then travel to other parts of the body and cause very serious complications, was seen to be high.
01:13The plastic surgery societies commissioned studies to see what exactly was going wrong.
01:18And what they discovered was that the technique used for BBLs, what was putting patients at risk.
01:25Now, once this was recognised, the recommendation then became using ultrasound to see where you're putting the fat.
01:33It's now been found to be a very safe procedure.
01:37Not every surgery ends as planned, but how to decide whether a facility is trustworthy?
01:44For a facility to be qualified to perform a service, it involves several things beyond the equipment.
01:54We also have the infrastructure that needs to be in place.
01:57Does this facility have referral networks?
02:01If these things are missing, then I think we can safely say that that facility would be unqualified to provide that service.
02:08Safety in plastic surgery goes beyond the surgeon. It depends on the entire system supporting the procedure.
02:17In an industry driven by fast trends, reconstruction remains the quiet promise of repair, recovery and hope.
02:24Many poor outcomes go unreported, making it difficult to understand how widespread the problem really is.
02:31One of the things I will repeat to patients over and over again is that plastic surgery.
02:38I encourage them sometimes to, let's focus on the surgery part now, so that we understand what the potential risks are.
02:46And when you're making a consent, or when you're agreeing to undergo a procedure, then you're fully equipped with the knowledge of what can happen.
02:55The process of getting plastic surgery, it doesn't have to be some arduous journey, right?
03:03But what this involves is you taking responsibility for your part of it, being careful in terms of selecting a plastic surgeon, a practice, etc.
03:16Ensuring that you find somebody that you can work with, that you trust.
03:23Because now you offload a lot of stress, starting off by finding that person.
03:30And then also in educating yourself.
03:32Your experience of that process of recovery, surgery itself, etc.
03:38is greatly transformed by your understanding of it ahead of time.
03:43Every time Dr. Murillo steps into the operating room, his goal is simple.
03:48That the patient leaves better than they came in, with a future they can choose.
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