No, they're not
breast-pumping parties...they're soirees where women get their boobs
boosted, lips plumped, and sometimes even get more junk in their trunks.
But a 22-year-old Miami man was just arrested for injecting women's
butts with illegal silicone injections, shedding light on the fact that
these "doctors" are not always what they seem.
Anthony
Donnell Solomon was arrested for throwing a "pumping party" where for
$500 a pop, women could increase the size of their butts by taking
illegal silicone injections. Police charged the man with unlicensed
practice of healthcare, a third-degree felony (punishable by up to five
years in prison) and/or a $5,000 fine.
Sounds scary? It's no
fluke--pumping parties are more common than you think. Here's how it
works: A group of women gather together at a private home or hotel room
and a person with no medical training (read: anyone from your
neighborhood dog walker to a school teacher) administers silicone
injections to their butts, lips, breasts, anywhere they want to plump
up.
"These parties often spread by word of mouth," says one of
the nation's leading plastic surgeons, Brent Moelleken, M.D., F.A.C.S.
"Many times women know someone who have had a procedure done, see no
immediate downsides, and are influenced by how easy it seems."
"Women
also frequent these parties because they're seduced by the low cost,"
says Stephan Baker, M.D., a spokesperson for the American Society of
Plastic Surgeons. "Sure, for only a few hundred dollars, they can have
their breasts done, but the consequences are too often fatal."
Here's further proof: In 2004, a transgender woman experienced convulsions and
died after attending such a party. And in 2001, a 53-year-old grandmother from South Florida
died from
a lung embolism after silicone leaked into her bloodstream. The biopsy
showed damage to every vital organ in her body and 36 puncture wounds
in her hips and butt.
This is why the FDA won't approve the
marketing of liquid silicone for any cosmetic purpose, even the
treatment of wrinkles. "Currently, the FDA prohibits manufacturers or
doctors from advertising or selling liquid silicone," says Baker. "The
problem is, people are buying industrial grade silicone--the kind you
use to caulk a bathtub--at Home Depot, and injecting people."
And
it's no wonder this practice is outlawed: "The injected liquid can--and
usually does--spread to other parts of the body through the
bloodstream, causing infections, blood clots to the lungs, cancer,
immune system disorders, and death," says Baker.
However, despite the death toll, business is booming and unlicensed "doctors" are estimated to
earn up to $1 million a year. People of all ages and income levels are
lining up to be injected with this illegal substance, in the hopes of
looking more youthful and beautiful.
"If you want to have
plastic surgery, never, ever visit one of these parties," says Baker.
"Instead, do your research: Find out where your doctor went to school,
and make sure he or she is board-certified in plastic surgery."
If you want to have a cosmetic procedure, learn how to choose a doctor
here or click
here.