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Out of about 1,000 patients, only 3 said the procedures are unsafe – Dr Anu

Published

4 years ago

July 19, 2020

Dr Anuoluwapo Adepoju, the operator of Med Contour Services Limited, speaks to ALEXANDER OKERE about the death of one of her clients after an alleged botched cosmetic surgery at her clinic in Lagos.

There were complaints about the standard of your services. For how long have you been practising as a surgeon and what exactly do you do?

I am a graduate of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos. I am a duly registered member of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, a member of the Nigerian Medical Association and physician member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery. I am a cosmetic surgeon and have been practising since 2018. I am into cosmetic surgery – minimally invasive and non-invasive procedures. I have been doing non-invasive procedures for quite some time now. I have been doing minimally invasive procedures since 2017/2018.

There is an allegation that you market your services?

Basically, what I upload on Instagram is to educate the public about what I do and make them know that these things can be done in Nigeria and they are not as bad as they think. I don’t market my services.

It was alleged that the services you provide are actually unsafe. What is your reaction to that?

It is false. If out of about 1,000 patients, only three patients said the procedures are unsafe, I don’t think that (allegation) is credible. The numbers are there.

What is your response to complaints that you uploaded bloodied body parts and obscene photos of women who have undergone or were undergoing cosmetic procedures in your clinic?

We don’t show blood. We show the procedure we have done. We show the part of the body we have worked on. We don’t disclose patients’ information unless they have authorised us to do so. We only display body parts we have worked on, like the abdomen, back and the bum, and we cover the sensitive parts of the body when doing so.

What about the criticism that you play and dance to secular music while performing the procedures?

There is no law that says you cannot play music in your (surgical) theatre. It is not against the medical practice to play music in the theatre. You do what makes you happy and concentrate. If you love to play music while reading or working, no one will say you shouldn’t. If I need to exercise my legs after standing in a particular position for so long, can’t I move about? There is no law that says you shouldn’t move about or shake your legs a bit or shake your body a little while working. We do continuous motion. So once in a while, you can do anything that makes you relaxed while working. Like I said, the procedures are minimally invasive. I’m neither performing a heart or brain surgery. I’m also not performing an invasive surgery that requires all my attention. Those complaining about the procedures do not know and I try to educate them in my own little way. I hope Nigerians will do more research and see how these things (cosmetic procedures) are done so that they can make constructive criticism.

What can you say about the case of one Mrs Nneka Onwuzuligbo, who was said to have undergone a procedure at your clinic but died later?

The patient had a cosmetic procedure done with us. The procedure was successful. The patient was awake during the procedure. She was fine. She had a medical issue and was referred to a facility where she could be managed. She was there for about 31 days and later died.

What medical issue did she have?

I cannot state that for the sake of confidentiality.

Was it an issue that could result in death?

If managed properly, a patient should not die.

Where do you think things went wrong in the case of the deceased?

When a patient undergoes a cosmetic procedure, there are certain rules they should follow. For example, if you do a liposuction and transfer fat to the buttocks, you are not meant to seat on them (buttocks) for some time. A patient is then placed on a medication. So, anything could have gone wrong and I do not know what could have gone wrong (in her own case).

Did her family contact you or complain to you when she developed a complication?

They told me what was going on. I remember visiting her at the hospital and helping her financially at some point.

Did the family accuse you of being responsible for her death?

Yes, they did. It was what they were told – that I was responsible for her death.

Were you aware she had an underlying medical condition before she had the cosmetic procedure?

No. It was few days after the cosmetic procedure that I got to know about her condition. She started to show some signs and we ran some tests for more investigations and that was how we found that she had an underlying condition. Usually, we take a detailed history to be sure the patient is fit for surgery. We also run baseline investigation. And we did all of that. So, I guess the patient wasn’t aware that she had the condition. It is just like when you have malaria – you may feel it but you are not sure it’s malaria.

What did you advise her to do?

Because it was out of our scope, it was our duty to refer the patient to someone who would manage her better, and we did refer her to an institution to give medical care. She was there for 31 days before she passed on. We referred her to a multi-specialty hospital that has the department where her condition could be managed.

Two other persons, one Taiwo Temilade and one Marlene Oluwakemi, were also said to have lodged complaints against you. Do you know them?

One of them was my patient who went to a different facility to have a free surgery done; I was not the one that performed the procedure. All of a sudden, she came back to say that what we did for her wasn’t appropriate. Marlene is a patient whom we helped out after she reached out to us about her waist and all of that. We decided to offer help during my birthday. I called a senior colleague of mine who performed the procedure on her. Complaints about my services are frivolous. People who have real issues will come to the hospital and we will manage them, not go on the social media.

You were accused of not providing certain documents to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Council which received complaints from your clients. Is that true?

They (FCCPC) are not meant to regulate or investigate a medical facility. The Nigerian Medical Association wrote to them and told them not to continue with their investigation. They (FCCPC) did not call me. They did not serve me a letter to say that they would like to find out what happened. They saw a social media publication, jumped at it without calling me to investigate. There was no search warrant. They met a locked facility, broke the gate, broke the door, went in, took pictures and posted them, saying that they were sealing the facility based on reasonable suspicion of illegal activities. This is something I have not been able to come to terms with it. They are just trying to bully my person and practice, because they say they are a Federal Government agency.

Is your clinic registered under the government and recognised by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria?

Yes, it is.

Why didn’t you appear before the commission as alleged by the Chief Executive, Dr Babatunde Irukera?

I wasn’t served. I wasn’t called. I wasn’t given a letter. They did not inform me about anything. It was in court they charged me, and even the judge scolded the chief executive, who was the prosecutor. I don’t know what it is but one thing I know is this man has an agenda.

Have you been threatened by anyone in respect of the case you are involved in?

I have been getting threats from a particular blogger. The blogger’s followers say they are going to maim me. Some of them say things like I should be stoned to death. They sent me messages on Instagram but they are not my followers.