(Twitter/@RodrigoUHNWs)
A mentally ill Brazilian man who has dedicated his life to trying to look like a Ken doll with plastic surgeries was reportedly admitted to the hospital after his nose began rotting.
9news.com.au reported that Rodrigo Alves, 32, has body dysmorphic disorder, or dysmorphophobia, a chronic mental illness marked by an obsession over physical appearance and body image. According to the Mayo Clinic, people with the condition commonly undergo multiple plastic surgeries to try to “fix” their perceived flaws, but they are never satisfied.
Alves, a flight attendant, has undergone 42 cosmetic operations over the last decade or so. Those surgeries have cost him about $400,000, 9news.com.au reported.
A nose operation he got three months ago may have been the cause of his rotting nose, the news website reported. The London resident noticed something was wrong when a hole appeared above the left ala of his nose. Doctors then diagnosed him with necrosis, or death of body tissue. The condition occurs due to a lack of blood flow to the tissue— either resulting from injury, or exposure to radiation or chemicals— and necrosis cannot be reversed, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Doctors are concerned Alves’ necrosis may spread or become gangrenous, which could happen if large areas of tissue die after being deprived of blood supply. He is being treated in Spain.
"It is very frightening,” Alves said, according to 9news.com.au. “I’ve been warned if it is not stopped, it could eat into my face.”