Dubai Police Arrest Fake Plastic Surgeon Impersonating Famous US Doctor

Something that costs more isn't always better, but neither is something cheaper. In some cases, the motto 'you get what you pay for' holds true. Buying something for less usually doesn't last as long as something that is better made and more expensive. There are some things worth buying cheaper, but when it comes to your body and your health, you need to be very discerning.

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I'm not a proponent of cosmetic surgery, unless it is a medical necessity. For whatever reasons our bodies age, it's something every single human being goes through. It's nature's way. And rather than pumping botox into every crack and crevice, and slicing, dicing and stretching our faces into some hideously unnatural monstrosity, as some face lifts turn out, we should embrace our wrinkles with grace.

But if you do opt for a little nip and tuck, or some liposuction, you better make darn sure that you are dealing with a reputable plastic surgeon. One who operates out of a medical facility, with a clean and sterile environment, not one who has set up his practice in his den. And in this case, cheaper is definitely not better. But with the economies so weak in most countries, people are looking for ways to cut back. So, when some women in Dubai discovered famous, former head of the U.S. Academy of Cosmetic Surgery Dr. Steven Hopping was offering his procedures at bargain basement prices, some as low as 500 dirhams ($136.00), right there in Dubai they jumped at the chance. The price itself should have been a red flag, but the fact he was operating out of his villa should have sent the women flying in the opposite direction. But their desires won out, and many are suffering the consequences with complications and botched surgeries. It turns out Dr. Steven Hopping wasn't the renowned surgeon written up in magazine articles and newspapers, after all. He was actually 69-year-old Dr. Steven Moose, a general practitioner not a plastic surgeon.

The imposter conducted fat-removal liposuction procedures under primitive conditions, according to Dr. Jeehan Qadir, head of the Dubai branch of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery Hospital.

"The operating conditions were so primitive that he discarded the removed fat into a cooking pot," the newspaper quoted Qadir as saying.

The operation "requires a special disposal machine which he did not have," she said.

Qadir said that the imposter was exposed after one of Hopping's patients sent the celebrity surgeon a copy of the fraudster's business card and asked, "Is this really you?"

Apparently, this wasn't the first time Moose has been practicing plastic surgery illegally. According to the real Hopping,

... the fraudster is wanted for trading in uncertified medical supplies and sedatives, and that he has committed several violations in more than one country.

"This person went to Dubai to continue his illegal medical activities," the newspaper quoted the Harvard-educated surgeon as saying.

Police sources told the press that the fake surgeon has been on Interpol's Red Notice alert since 2008 and was once arrested and released by UAE authorities because the United States did not follow up on his case.

We hear about these kinds of cases quite often, from fraudulent dentists to medical doctors, and most of them are quite obviously not legit. Someone who charges very low prices and works out of a questionable facility is more than likely not someone you want to trust your life with. If the prices seem too good to be true, then they're probably not.

Moose has finally been arrested, and hopefully will never practice again.