A Brazilian man ended up at the emergency room last week, after attempting to perform a rhinoplasty on himself, using YouTube tutorials and super glue.

You can find all sorts of DIY tutorials on YouTube these days, and that apparently includes nose surgery as well. However, just because someone says you don’t have to be a doctor to perform an operation, especially if it’s on yourself doesn’t make it a good idea. Unfortunately, one Sao Paolo man actually tried to do his own rhinoplasty using a YouTube video as a guide and ended up at the Campo Limpo Emergency Care Unit with an infected wound. The man told doctors that he did not use any gloves to perform the procedure and didn’t clean the wound as not to open his stitches.

Photo: Wendy Scofield/Unsplash

The man, whose name has not been revealed by the hospital, told doctors at the nose, throat and ears department that he got the idea to do his own nose surgery on YouTube, and that he used rubbing alcohol to disinfect the area, and veterinary anesthetic to numb the pain. After he was done “operating”, he used self-absorbing thread and superglue to close the wound.

“His sheet clarifies that, after being welcomed by the mental health medical team, the patient underwent care by the oral and maxillofacial team (BMF), which carried out the cleaning of the wound, dressing and guidance on the necessary care,” a hospital press release read. “The patient was discharged from the hospital on the same day, in addition to being referred for a return visit with the BMF specialty.”

The would-be surgeon showed up at the hospital on July 21st, but his case was only disclosed by the media yesterday. It is now shining a spotlight on the so-called “home rhinoplasty” videos that allegedly teach people how to make their noses smaller or thinner. Doctors warn that such amateur surgical procedures can, in addition to causing the opposite effect to the desired one, lead to death.

Photo: Sander Sammy/Unsplash

The Brazilian Society of Plastic Surgery (SBCP) also published a warning statement on its official website, clarifying that rhinoplasty, “in addition to being an exclusively medical act, requires specialization and qualifications to perform”.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time someone performed surgery on themselves. In 2016, an English engineer operated on himself after being put on a long waiting list.