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Scarred women seek recognised surgeons after botched-up operations by quacks
Several women who suffered severe injury and have been scarred and marred after ‘treatment’ from a so-called ‘Age Reversing Clinic’ in Malabe have now sought help from qualified plastic surgeons.
While plastic surgeons in one voice lashed out at these “unsafe and unsterile” clinics where cosmetic surgery is being doled out in tiny rooms in private homes, health sources also sought urgent measures to establish a Specialist Register. Currently, the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) has only a Specialist List.
When the Sunday Times met one of the women who had undergone breast adjustments at the hands of Dr. G.M.N. Sudharshana at the Malabe clinic, she was in severe pain and unable to move without grimacing, even two weeks later.
“Jumbled surgery,” is how Consultant Plastic Surgeon Dr. Dulip Perera described it, stressing that when unqualified doctors attempt to do things beyond their capability the consequences turn out to be disastrous.
It was also not a case in isolation, many plastic surgeons told the Sunday Times, having salvaged and treated other cases allegedly botched up by the same doctor.
“These patients have suffered serious disfiguration,” said Consultant Plastic Surgeon Dr. Thushan Beneragma, pointing out that among the victims were those who had undergone ‘breast-lifts’ and ‘neck-lifts’ by this particular doctor.
All plastic surgeons are adamant that there is nothing called “dermal surgery” which Dr. Sudharshana claims he is practising when repeatedly asked by the Sunday Times whether it is not constructive surgery which clearly falls under the mandate of cosmetic and plastic surgery.
Dr. Sudharshana told the Sunday Times that he passed out from the Colombo Medical Faculty in 1992 and was an intern at the National Hospital. Thereafter, he worked at the Matara, Nuwara Eliya and Karapitiya Hospitals and finally the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children from where he resigned and got into full-time private practice. (See box)
Asked whether he was specialised in any field of medicine, particularly plastic surgery, he said he was not but he received a three-month training in ‘dermal surgery’ at the Nakamura Hospital in Oita, Japan.
“I don’t do any open surgery. I don’t use general anaesthesia, only local anaesthesia,” said Dr. Sudharshana, claiming that if there was a problem after the procedure, it would be due to neglect by the patients themselves who would not have followed his orders.
According to him he has done about 100 face-lifts, breast-lifts, tummy reductions and arm reductions as well as about 200 hair transplants. He invited the Sunday Times to visit his clinic and see on his tab all the procedures he has done.
These are all open surgeries, insisted a cross-section of plastic surgeons.
When asked whether he conducts tests before such procedures, he says the patient is asked whether there is any illness such as high blood pressure, diabetes and also allergies. Before and after the procedure, the patient’s pressure is taken and also a random blood sugar test after a finger-prick.
The procedures are performed in a room in his house and he does not have permanent nursing staff but has three nurses he calls on rotation when a procedure is fixed, it is learnt.
The 40-year-old woman whose breast procedure ended in disaster told the Sunday Times that she called Dr. Sudharshana’s mobile on seeing the heavy advertising. An appointment was given for 10 a.m. on October 18. When she arrived she found that the clinic was a tiny room in a posh upstair home.
Having paid Rs. 1,000 as the registration fee, she filled a form which sought details of name, address, phone number as well as past and present medical conditions and whether she suffered from any allergies, said the woman who for obvious reasons declined to be named.
No medical tests were ordered or even the pressure checked that day. When she told the doctor that she would like to rid herself of her flabby stomach, he examined her and went into a lengthy explanation why the immediate need was to lift up her sagging bosom.
Not only this victim but several others also told the Sunday Times that the tiny consultation room held the doctor’s table, a chair for the client and a black bed-like contraption with a mirror on the wall.
A 19-year-old said that the operating room was also like a “hunduwa”. The doctor is a glib talker and very persuasive. No receipts were issued for the huge sum she paid to him for a breast-reduction.
“Amu, amuve kapanawa,” she alleged, adding that soon after her procedure she was very ill and even turned yellow, with severe bouts of vomiting. Three months later there are still tiny wounds.
When the 40-year-old woman agreed to the breast procedure, after having been shown on the doctor’s tab numerous such “non-invasive interventions” that he had performed, she had been told to come the very next day (October 19).
Other victims said that the doctor indicated that he had performed numerous procedures on “nalu niliyo” (actors and actresses), high-level politicians, wives of top brass in the armed forces and consultant doctors.
The photos of a second-in-command of a political party are shown on the tab, before and after he has had a facial procedure, while the bald heads, whom Dr. Sudharshana claims, are consultant doctors with hair transplantations being done are also shown off.
The rates are mouthed without hesitation. A tummy-tuck would cost Rs. 150,000, a breast procedure Rs. 200,000 and a face-lift Rs. 250,000, with a promise that for the latter there would only be a small line which would be behind the ear.
The breast procedure on the 40-year-old woman was performed on October 19 and she was bandaged up and sent home with a prescription for an antibiotic for 10 days after which she would have to come back for a check-up. She paid Rs. 50,000 upfront with instructions that she should deposit the balance 100,000 in a bank account.
Ten days, she waited in agony and when she went back to the doctor on October 29, the doctor was non-committal. It was then, in much pain that she decided to seek treatment elsewhere, she said.
The doctor, meanwhile, says that she did not follow-up the treatment because she did not want to pay up the balance Rs. 100,000.
A police investigation and an SLMC inquiry are underway on complaints made by patients, it is learnt.
| The enticing age reversing ad
When anyone calls the two mobile phone numbers in the advertisement of the ‘Age Reversing Clinic’, it is Dr. Sudharshana who answers and gives an appointment to see him. The advertisement claims: “First time in Sri Lanka. Do you want to be 20-30 yrs permanently younger in few hours? Why do you waste your money for temporary procedures? No risks, No complications and guaranteed. Done by professional experienced doctor. Extending life span in humans through reversing age. “Here is the permanent solution. Permanent correction of Sagging face (Face lifting), Chin (Double Chin), Arms, Breast, Abdomen, Waist, Thighs and Removal of excessive fat in the body. Always check the SLMC Registration of Your Doctor.” Doc’s registration untraceable on PHSRC website The Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) website indicates that the registration number of Dr. Sudharshana given to clients is that of Mahavidanalage Nalaka Sudarshana Gunaratne of 1084/1/N, 5th Lane, K.A. Perera Mawatha, Hokandara North. This doctor is not on the Specialist List, SLMC sources told the Sunday Times. A thorough check of the website of the Private Health Services Regulatory Council (PHSRC) of the Health Ministry to verify whether Dr. Sudharshana’s clinic is registered, as mandatorily required, turned out to be negative. When asked, Dr. Sudharshana said that it is registered as the ‘Poorna Medical Centre’ (Reg. No. w.d 12040) under the name of his wife. She is not a doctor. The Sunday Times, however, could not locate the registration on the PHSRC website. The search came up with ‘no result’. Lack of Specialist Register provides loophole The lack of a Specialist Register is a serious concern among doctors who have qualified as specialists. This has provided a loophole for those unqualified and unskilled in any specialty to take up such fields as cosmetic surgery with impunity, pointed out a senior consultant. Another explained that with the basic medical degree of – Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery, such non-specialists were indulging in cutting up people and causing much harm. Lack of Specialist Register provides loophole.
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