Phony plastic surgeon performed breast implants

Italian Matteo Politi, 38, who used the alias Matthew Mode, and claimed he was British, is escorted into a police station in Bucharest, Romania. Photo / AP

Romanian police have detained an Italian man who allegedly posed as a plastic surgeon in clinics around Bucharest, doing dozens of operations including breast implants.

Border police detained Matteo Politi on a train on the Romanian-Hungarian border after an alert went out and he was brought to Bucharest. A statement said he was being investigated for fraud.

Politi, 38, who used the alias Matthew Mode and claimed he was British, had been operating in several private clinics in the Romanian capital.

But the College of Medics said that it hadn't issued Politi with a license to practice.

Romanian health authorities, who must also issue a separate permit for doctors, say he was given one in March 2018 after submitting a fake diploma claiming that he'd qualified as a doctor in Kosovo.

Health Minister Sorina Pintea said she suspected document corruption in his case.

Plastic surgeon Dr Adina Alberts, who reported him to authorities, said he worked at her clinic and initially fooled her.

"He was brilliant at talking," she said.

But she had doubts after seeing the way he held a syringe.

She said one patient suffered complications after breast implant surgery he performed. Romania media reported he was involved in other botched operations.

Media reports said Politi previously received a suspended 18-month sentence in Italy for having posed there as a doctor without having a medical license.

- AP