Injected women develop skin problems; man sought

• Article
• Comments ()
• Click-2-Listen
• Videos

By

At least 16 women in the Washington area have developed serious skin problems, including blisters, infections and large abscesses, after getting injections of a trendy anti-fat treatment from a man claiming to be a Colombian doctor.

Health officials in Virginia want to question the man claiming to be a doctor, but he is believed to be out of the country, said Suzanne Jenkins of the Virginia Department of Health (VDH).

"Since we don't know exactly what was injected, I guess there is always the possibility for some chemical or toxin that could cause liver problems or kidney problems," said Ms. Jenkins, acting state epidemiologist for the VDH. "Pick something out of the hat and anything could happen. We certainly want to prevent this from happening to other women," she said.

Officials yesterday said the suspect's name is being withheld in hopes of encouraging more of his patients, who range in age from late teens to women in their 60s, to contact authorities. Officials said most of the victims are Latin American women who were given the injections in their own homes in October and November.

Mesotherapy, marketed as a replacement for liposuction, is a skin treatment that involves injecting the middle layers of the skin with a mixture of vitamins, minerals and hormones.

But one of the Northern Virginian women who received treatment from the Colombian man has developed 21 abscesses, the largest of which is 5 centimeters across. Other women have developed infections at the point of injection, pain, redness, swelling and blisters. None has been hospitalized.

"My main concern is that if we have an infection that is long-lasting and we don't find out what the cause is, we're not going to treat it appropriately. There's always the possibility for an organism to get into the blood stream and cause systemic infection throughout the body, rather than just localized to these injections," Ms. Jenkins said.

"It wouldn't be infectious in that it would be transmitted to other people, but it would certainly be a serious threat to that person's health," she said.

There have been 16 cases reported, most of them by one physician. The cases were first reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which notified the VDH. Lab tests from these first reported cases are being conducted, said Lucy Caldwell, VDH spokeswoman.

Health officials have received anecdotal reports that many other women have received private mesotherapy treatments, many of them from the Colombian. They want women who received the treatment to come forward to be tested, even if they have not experienced side effects.

"We need to talk to these women," Mrs. Caldwell said. The VDH has set up a hot line, 703/934-0627, for women to call with the promise that their privacy will be protected.

The Colombian man is being investigated by the Virginia Department of Health Professions, Ms. Jenkins said.

The treatment itself was first developed in 1952 in France. Treatments cost up to $500 a session, and as many as 15 sessions are recommended. The treatment is offered by licensed professionals in the Washington area.

Dr. Gregg A. Pane, director of the District of Columbia Department of Health, said there was believed to be one case of a reaction to the injection in the city.

"We really want people to be on the alert for more, so we've issued a health advisory through the hospital association and through the doctors in the district," Dr. Pane said.

• This article is based in part on wire service reports.