Plastic surgeon

Born: July 5, 1926;

Died: August 6, 2016

DR Ivo Pitanguy, who has died aged 90 after a heart attack, was one of the world's leading and most flamboyant plastic surgeons who helped make Brazil a popular destination for the rich and famous in need of surgical assistance. His clients were said to have included Zsa Zsa Gabor and Frank Sinatra.

Pitanguy's death came one day after he carried the Olympic flame that later lit the cauldron at the Games' opening ceremony in Rio's Maracana Stadium. Suffering various health problems, he carried the flame while sitting in a wheelchair.

One of his signature surgeries earned the nickname the "Brazilian butt-lift." His skills with the scalpel helped turn beauty-obsessed Brazil into a leading international destination for plastic surgery tourism and one of the countries where the most operations are performed. Last year, more than 12 per cent of the 20 million cosmetic operations in the world were conducted in Brazil.

Pitanguy was said to have a long list of international jet-set types on whom he operated, although he was also careful not to release names. He became so successful that he commuted to work in a helicopter from a private island.

Despite his fame and wealth, he also liked to help poor accident victims for free. Early in his career, he created a surgical wing of a hospital to treat those with few resources. Other hospitals followed suit, leading to several that offer discounted or even free plastic surgeries to the poor.

Sometimes called the philosopher of plastic surgery, Pitanguy argued that beauty treatments could help people in the same way that psychoanalysis does because it helps break down internal barriers. In other words, changes made on the outside of the body could boost self-esteem.

He was himself the son of a surgeaon and was born in the city of Belo Horizonte. After medical school, he became increasingly interested in plastic surgery, a specialism which was still in its relative infancy.

“Plastic surgery in the 1940s was not yet a respected and valued specialisation,” he said. “I earned my Master’s degree in the United States and when I returned to Brazil, I saw the need to develop the field there. I created the first Clinic for Hand Reconstruction in Rio de Janeiro, then was invited to study in Paris, rebuilding the mutilated limbs of Second World War victims.”

Pitanguy also worked with Sir Harold Gillies at his specialist burns unit in East Grinstead (Sir Harold had carried out pioneering skin crafts on solders during the First World War). On his return to Brazil, Pitanguy became head of burns and reconstructive surgery at the Souza Aguair Hospital in Rio and head of the hand surgery unit at the House of Mercy Hospital where he established his first plastic surgery clinic in 1963.

He is survived by his wife and three sons.