STF denies appeal and must end the process against a doctor who operated on celebrities

The Federal Supreme Court denied the appeal of the MPF (Federal Public Prosecutor) of Goiás, which was bringing a civil action against the doctor Áureo Ludovico de Paula on the charge of performing experimental surgeries on his patients, among them the presenter Fausto Silva and the senator Romário (PL- RJ).

For the doctor’s defense, headed by the lawyer Antonio Carlos de Almeida Castro, Kakay, the decision puts an end to the process that has been going on for more than ten years and gives precedence to the decision of the Federal Regional Court (TRF), in 2018, which considered not there is illegality in the doctor’s action. Sought, the MPF said it will not comment on the matter.

The operation that has been placed at the center of the legal debate is a bariatric surgery technique known as sleeve gastrectomy with ileal interposition (GVII), which assumes that it is possible to cure type 2 diabetes using hormones from the digestive tract.

“What we have achieved is that he can have the surgery. In fact, we have been able to authorize him to continue practicing his technique, which is revolutionary and an advance in Brazilian science”, says Kakay.

Doctor De Paula also celebrates the decision. “This legalization of the procedure brings relief, because this procedure can reach millions of Brazilians in a legalized way”, he says, mentioning that the procedure that, in addition to putting diabetes in remission, also controls arterial hypertension, cholesterol and triglycerides problems. and kidney problems associated with diabetes.

The procedure was prohibited from being performed in 2010. In April 2011, a technical committee of the CFM (Federal Council of Medicine) considered it to be non-experimental. The analysis was taken to the council’s plenary, which rejected the decision.

“In the entity’s assessment, recent techniques – such as sleeve gastrectomy with ileum interposition – still need more studies and research to prove their effectiveness and safety for patients to be authorized,” the council explained in a note at the time. Thus, the technique remained considered experimental.

The 2011 note explains that the Technical Chamber of Bariatric Surgery, created by the CFM especially to analyze the work developed in the area, would continue to be active. “The group will evaluate studies and research, and if the results indicate efficacy and safety of the analyzed techniques, the debate can be reopened in order to offer the Brazilian new therapeutic options.”

However, today, the CFM informs that the technique is not foreseen within its resolution.

Sought, the council, which joined the action alongside the Public Ministry in 2011, says that it does not consider that it lost the action because it only joined after the process was proposed. “The TRF decision recognized ileal interposition surgery as a ‘non-experimental’ procedure, and recognized that it is the responsibility of the CFM to regulate the matter, having not set a deadline or any other specific determination.”

Regarding the regulation of the technique, the council explains that the current resolution on the rules for bariatric and metabolic surgery is maintained. “The CFM remains attentive to scientific evidence on the subject, through a specific Technical Chamber, which collects subsidies for possible adjustments to the rules.”

Marcelo Turbay, who works together with Kakay, and represents the doctor Áureo Ludovico de Paula, says that the surgical technique in question is fully scientifically recognized and authorized by a court decision, with the final word of the STF. “It’s time to look ahead. With the end of this provincial persecution against Dr. Aureo. It’s time to look after the health of millions of diabetics around the world”, he says.