French doctor accused in plastic surgery scam wanted

31 July 2008

MARSEILLE – A European arrest warrant has been issued for a French doctor accused of mutilating dozens of people during unauthorised plastic surgery, a judicial source said Wednesday.

A Marseille court issued the arrest warrant for Michel Maure, seven weeks after his trial, over concerns he had fled and following the disappearance of his family, said the source.

The verdict is expected early in August and Maure, who could face four years in jail, has failed to inform court officials of his whereabouts.

Nearly 100 victims lodged complaints against Maure, 59, who faced charges of false advertising, deception, personal endangerment and causing involuntary injuries. He had claimed to be one of the greatest plastic surgeons in the world.

Last week, the Marseille prosecutor opened an investigation into the "worrying disappearance" of Maure’s partner and their three children.

A family friend expressed concern that she had not heard from them in more than four weeks.

Investigators have said that since 1995, the doctor had practised illegally, describing his clinic as a "dirty and badly maintained facility" where his patients faced "an immediate risk of death or severe after effects".

Many of Maure’s mainly female patients decribed his methods as ‘violent’: he carried out painful procedures, such as liposuction or the insertion of breast implants, under a simple local anaesthetic.

His alleged victims have complained of chronic pain and infections. Several have had to undergo reparatory surgery.

Maure, who claimed to be the "victim of a plot", was in 2007 struck off France’s medical register.

[AFP / Expatica]