Billionaire, 65, dies throughout botched penis enlargement operation as surgeon will get banned
Ehud Arye Laniado, 65, had a heart attack during the procedure at a high-end clinic in Paris, where he was a frequent visitor and was having injections to make his penis larger at the time of the death
Ehud Arye Laniado, 65, had a heart attack during the procedure (Image: Handout)
A plastic surgeon has been banned from the profession after his billionaire client died during a botched penis enlargement operation. Ehdu Arye Laniado, 65, suffered a heart attack during the procedure in the Saint-Hondre-Ponthieu clinic in Paris.
The Belgian-Israeli diamond dealer was having injections in his penis to make it larger at the time of his death, sparking a manslaughter probe from police. However, authorities later changed to charges of failure to assist a person in danger, drug offences and practicing medicine without a license.
Guy H, a renowned plastic surgeon and founder of the clinic, and his assistant surgeon were banned from practicing medicine.
Guy H received a 15-month suspended prison sentence while his assistant, who was standing in for him on the night of the operation, was handed a 12-month suspended sentence by a French court on Wednesday. Both doctors, in their 70s, were also ordered to pay up fines of €50,000 (£43,000) and €20,000 (£17,000), respectively.
They were cleared of any wrongdoing in Laniado’s death. Prosecutors found that bodybuilding enthusiast Laniado had been taking banned substances as well as chemicals used to help men fight erectile dysfunction in the lead up to his death.
The case also brought to light the clinics questionable practices. The surgeon was practicing without qualifications or registration with the Medical Council and Guy H was administering Botox without the required certificate, the Sun reports.
A French court heard the emergency services were called at 8pm on March 2, 2019, and again two hours later. One defendant claimed the first call was made at Laniado’s insistence as he was suffering from abdominal pain. But he chose to continue with the surgery.
The injection into his penis was quickly ruled out as the cause of death, a judicial source told Le Parisien. An autopsy confirmed cardiac hypertrophy as the cause of the billionaire’s death.
Investigators who searched his hotel room at the luxury five-star Plaza Athene, found the stash of performance substances Laniado had been taking. The substances were banned in France. A judicial source said these were likely the cause of his heart attack.
Laniado the owner of Mercury Diamond, a diamond pricing consultancy. In 2015, he sold the world’s most expensive diamond, the Blue Moon of Josephine, to a Hong Kong billionaire and convicted felon, Joseph Lau Luen Hung.
He also owned Omega Diamonds in Antwerp, who said at the time of his death: “Farewell to a visionary businessman.
“After living an exceptional life Ehud will be brought back home to Israel as his final resting place. He will be dearly missed by us all.”
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