Billionaire Ehud Laniado dies during penis enlargement surgery, surgeons banned

Two plastic surgeons have been banned from performing plastic surgery after a billionaire diamond tycoon died during a penis enlargement procedure at a private clinic in Paris.Ehud Laniado died during a penis enlargement surgery in 2019Belgian-Israeli businessman Ehud Arye Laniado, founder of Omega Diamonds, suffered a fatal heart attack while undergoing injections intended to enlarge his penis. He died while the procedure was being performed at a private clinic in March 2019, Le Parisien reported.Laniado was 65 at the time of his death.Surgeons chargedThe lead surgeon, identified only as “Guy H.”, was initially investigated on suspicion of manslaughter. However, prosecutors later downgraded the charges to failure to ass a person in danger, drug-related offences, and practising medicine without a licence.Investigators determined that the injection itself was not responsible for Laniado’s death.A judicial source told Le Parisien that the procedure was “quickly ruled out” as the cause.Emergency calls hours apartEmergency services were first contacted at around 8 pm on March 2, 2019, while Laniado was still alive. One defendant told the court that the call was made at the patient’s insence, with Laniado complaining of abdominal pain.Despite the discomfort, Laniado — a frequent visitor to the clinic who reportedly underwent procedures several times a year costing tens of thousands of euros — chose to continue with the treatment.Two hours later, emergency crews were summoned again after he suffered a fatal cardiac arrest. (Also read: Botched penis injections: Man wins ‘biggest medical payout’ after doctors cause irreversible harm)Addressing the timing of the calls, a source close to the case said: “It’s easy to say in hindsight that the heart attack started (at the 8 pm call), but since the patient had an ulcer, it was impossible to consider a heart problem, and emergency services wouldn’t have been called out for such a minor issue.”Autopsy findingsAn autopsy later confirmed that Laniado died from cardiac hypertrophy, a condition involving an enlarged heart.A search of his hotel room revealed he had been taking multiple substances banned in France, along with vasodilators commonly used to treat erectile dysfunction. According to judicial sources, these substances are believed to have contributed to his death.Assant surgeon unregered in FranceThe investigation also uncovered serious professional irregularities at the Saint-Honoré-Ponthieu clinic where Laniado died.The assant surgeon present during the procedure had not been regered with the French Medical Association, despite having worked in France for more than two decades. Her medical degrees, obtained in Algeria, were not recognised in the country.A Paris court handed Guy H. a 15-month suspended sentence, while the assant surgeon received a 12-month suspended sentence. Both doctors, who are in their 70s, have been banned from practising plastic surgery.They were also fined €50,000 and €20,000, respectively.“It’s a sober, clear, and calming decision,” said the attorney representing Guy H. “There was something futile and sad about trying to find someone responsible at all costs, following a purely accidental death.”