Biography:
Bénédicte Desrus is a documentary photographer based in Mexico. She is represented by Sipa Press USA and has worked throughout Europe, East Africa, the United States and Latin America. She focuses on humanitarian...
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Focus:Photographer, Photojournalist, Reporter, Health, Entertainment, Travel, Technology, Science, Documentary, Creative, Photography, Foreign, Portraiture, Lifestyle, Events, Author, International News, Arts & Culture, Freelance, Civil Rights and Social Inequality, Humanitarian, Assignments, Human Rights, Investigation
Maria Teresa Terrones y Alejos shows a photo of her swollen face caused by an injection of a foreign substance, while sitting in her home in Mexico City, Mexico, on June 22, 2019. “My face just started to swell. Then everyday just a little more until I looked like a monster. I was another person,” she said.
María Teresa Terrones y Alejos is an 83 year old widow and mother of three. She occupies her own room in the garden of her son's house in Mexico City. At 40, she went with three friends to an alleged doctor who injected "vitamin oil" into her face. She said it was very inexpensive. Forty years later she experienced a strong inflammatory reaction on her face that caused her stress and anxiety for several months. Now, with cortisone-based treatment, the inflammation has greatly reduced. María Teresa is now overcoming the trauma with the support of her children.
Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
María Teresa Terrones y Alejos (C) is accompanied by her daughter Angélica Ulloa Terrones (R) during a medical consultation with Dr. Humberto Anduaga (L), plastic and reconstructive surgeon, at the Hospital de Especialidades del Centro Médico Nacional La Raza in Mexico City, Mexico on May 16, 2019. María Teresa Terrones y Alejos is an 83 year old widow and mother of three. She occupies her own room in the garden of her son's house in Mexico City. At 40, she went with three friends to an alleged doctor who injected "vitamin oil" into her face. She said it was very inexpensive. Forty years later she experienced a strong inflammatory reaction on her face that caused her stress and anxiety for several months. Now, with cortisone-based treatment, the inflammation has greatly reduced. María Teresa is now overcoming the trauma with the support of her children. Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
María Teresa Terrones during a medical consultation with Dr. Humberto Anduaga, plastic and reconstructive surgeon, at the Hospital de Especialidades del Centro Médico Nacional La Raza in Mexico City, Mexico on May 16, 2019. María Teresa Terrones y Alejos is an 83 year old widow and mother of three. She occupies her own room in the garden of her son's house in Mexico City. At 40, she went with three friends to an alleged doctor who injected "vitamin oil" into her face. She said it was very inexpensive. Forty years later she experienced a strong inflammatory reaction on her face that caused her stress and anxiety for several months. Now, with cortisone-based treatment, the inflammation has greatly reduced. María Teresa is now overcoming the trauma with the support of her children. Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
Lili (who asked that her real name not be used) during a medical consultation with Dr. Humberto Anduaga, plastic and reconstructive surgeon, at the Hospital de Especialidades del Centro Médico Nacional La Raza in Mexico City, Mexico on May 16, 2019. Lili (who asked that her real name not be used) is a Mexican woman in her fifties who lives in Mexico City. It’s been over 25 years that mineral oil was injected into Lilli’s breast and buttocks for cosmetic purposes. Her mother insisted they go through the procedures together and found a beauty salon on the recommendation of a friend. Four years passed when she began to notice complications in her legs from the injectables. Lilli has seen many doctors and has had around 30 surgeries to remove part of the fillers. Over the years she hid her malady from her husband and children. She fell into a deep depression and at one point tempted to take her own life. These days she is a patient of plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Humberto Anduaga who has performed several removal and reconstructive surgeries that have helped her improve her health, says Lili. Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
Paty, who asked that her real not be used, stands still as Dr. Humberto Anduaga, plastic and reconstructive surgeon, drains accumulated liquid from her buttocks at the Hospital de Especialidades del Centro Médico Nacional La Raza in Mexico City, Mexico on July 4, 2019. Three years ago Dr. Anduaga surgically removed part of the fillers from Paty’s buttocks.
Paty, who asked that her real name not be used, had buttock augmentation 30 years ago. A student in her aerobics class convinced Paty to visit her brother’s private clinic where many women were receiving injections that were presented as collagen. A decade later Paty’s then 18-year-old daughter followed in her mother’s footsteps and received injections into her buttocks for enhancement at the very same clinic. Shortly thereafter Paty began to feel a burning in her legs, a symptom associated with human adjuvant disease. To this day she remains tormented by the guilt of having dragged her daughter into these practices, with terrible consequences for both. Paty has had two surgeries to remove part of the fillers, one ten years ago and the other three years ago performed by plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Humberto Anduaga. Paty’s outlook on life has changed dramatically. She has withdrawn socially, ending friendships and staying inside her home unless she absolutely needs to go out. She still lives with her husband but they no longer share a bed and haven’t for more than 15 years. “There is a foreign substance in my body and it’s causing a reaction,” said Paty.
Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often seve
Marisela is reflected in her bathroom mirror while getting herself ready, at her home in Mexico City, Mexico on February 14, 2019.
Marisela Castillo Zavala is a 52 years-old single mother of one who lives in Mexico City. More than twenty years ago, Marisela and several friends went to the home of an alleged cosmetologist because they wanted to modify their bodies. Marisela was injected in the buttocks with five bottles of what she was told was collagen. Each bottle cost 3,500 Mexican Pesos (180 U.S. Dollars) at the time. Over time she discovered that she had been injected with a mixture of silicone and cooking oil. Five years after the injections, Marisela began to feel a burning sensation in her buttocks and her legs go hard. She was diagnosed with "human adjuvant disease by infiltration of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes” and fibromyalgia. The doctors had to partially amputate her buttocks. She has gone through eight removal and reconstructive surgeries and months without being able to sit down.
Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
Marisela curls her eyelashes while getting herself ready, at her home in Mexico City, Mexico on February 14, 2019.
Marisela Castillo Zavala is a 52 years-old single mother of one who lives in Mexico City. More than twenty years ago, Marisela and several friends went to the home of an alleged cosmetologist because they wanted to modify their bodies. Marisela was injected in the buttocks with five bottles of what she was told was collagen. Each bottle cost 3,500 Mexican Pesos (180 U.S. Dollars) at the time. Over time she discovered that she had been injected with a mixture of silicone and cooking oil. Five years after the injections, Marisela began to feel a burning sensation in her buttocks and her legs go hard. She was diagnosed with "human adjuvant disease by infiltration of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes” and fibromyalgia. The doctors had to partially amputate her buttocks. She has gone through eight removal and reconstructive surgeries and months without being able to sit down.
Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
Marisela talks with Dr. Humberto Anduaga, plastic and reconstructive surgeon, before her eighth surgery, at the Centro Médico Nacional La Raz in Mexico City, Mexico on October 4, 2019.
Marisela Castillo Zavala is a 53 years-old single mother of one who lives in Mexico City. More than twenty years ago, Marisela and several friends went to the home of an alleged cosmetologist because they wanted to modify their bodies. Marisela was injected in the buttocks with five bottles of what she was told was collagen. Each bottle cost 3,500 Mexican Pesos (180 U.S. Dollars) at the time. Over time she discovered that she had been injected with a mixture of silicone and cooking oil. Five years after the injections, Marisela began to feel a burning sensation in her buttocks and her legs go hard. She was diagnosed with "human adjuvant disease by infiltration of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes” and fibromyalgia. The doctors had to partially amputate her buttocks. She has gone through eight removal and reconstructive surgeries and months without being able to sit down.
Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
Marisela shows her yin yang tattoo, and the scars on the small of her back as a result of various surgeries, while at her home in Mexico City, Mexico on May 9, 2019.
Marisela Castillo Zavala is a 52 years-old single mother of one who lives in Mexico City. More than twenty years ago, Marisela and several friends went to the home of an alleged cosmetologist because they wanted to modify their bodies. Marisela was injected in the buttocks with five bottles of what she was told was collagen. Each bottle cost 3,500 Mexican Pesos (180 U.S. Dollars) at the time. Over time she discovered that she had been injected with a mixture of silicone and cooking oil. Five years after the injections, Marisela began to feel a burning sensation in her buttocks and her legs go hard. She was diagnosed with "human adjuvant disease by infiltration of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes” and fibromyalgia. The doctors had to partially amputate her buttocks. She has gone through eight removal and reconstructive surgeries and months without being able to sit down.
Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
Marisela holds a container with a sample of silicon and cooking oil that had been injected into her body for cosmetic purposes and was extracted from her body for analysis by the UNAM’s Chemistry Institute, while at her home in Mexico City, Mexico on July 1, 2019. “I’m saving the container. It is proof of what I have inside my body,” she says.
Marisela Castillo Zavala is a 53 years-old single mother of one who lives in Mexico City. More than twenty years ago, Marisela and several friends went to the home of an alleged cosmetologist because they wanted to modify their bodies. Marisela was injected in the buttocks with five bottles of what she was told was collagen. Each bottle cost 3,500 Mexican Pesos (180 U.S. Dollars) at the time. Over time she discovered that she had been injected with a mixture of silicone and cooking oil. Five years after the injections, Marisela began to feel a burning sensation in her buttocks and her legs go hard. She was diagnosed with "human adjuvant disease by infiltration of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes” and fibromyalgia. The doctors had to partially amputate her buttocks. She has gone through eight removal and reconstructive surgeries and months without being able to sit down.
Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic an
Marisela cleans her catheter after her eighth surgery, with the help of her friend Elizabeth Espinosa, at her home in Mexico City, Mexico on October 8, 2019.
Marisela Castillo Zavala is a 53 years-old single mother of one who lives in Mexico City. More than twenty years ago, Marisela and several friends went to the home of an alleged cosmetologist because they wanted to modify their bodies. Marisela was injected in the buttocks with five bottles of what she was told was collagen. Each bottle cost 3,500 Mexican Pesos (180 U.S. Dollars) at the time. Over time she discovered that she had been injected with a mixture of silicone and cooking oil. Five years after the injections, Marisela began to feel a burning sensation in her buttocks and her legs go hard. She was diagnosed with "human adjuvant disease by infiltration of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes” and fibromyalgia. The doctors had to partially amputate her buttocks. She has gone through eight removal and reconstructive surgeries and months without being able to sit down.
Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
Marisela cleans her catheter after her eighth surgery, with the help of her friend Elizabeth Espinosa, at her home in Mexico City, Mexico on October 8, 2019.
Marisela Castillo Zavala is a 53 years-old single mother of one who lives in Mexico City. More than twenty years ago, Marisela and several friends went to the home of an alleged cosmetologist because they wanted to modify their bodies. Marisela was injected in the buttocks with five bottles of what she was told was collagen. Each bottle cost 3,500 Mexican Pesos (180 U.S. Dollars) at the time. Over time she discovered that she had been injected with a mixture of silicone and cooking oil. Five years after the injections, Marisela began to feel a burning sensation in her buttocks and her legs go hard. She was diagnosed with "human adjuvant disease by infiltration of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes” and fibromyalgia. The doctors had to partially amputate her buttocks. She has gone through eight removal and reconstructive surgeries and months without being able to sit down.
Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
Marisela cleans her catheter after her eighth surgery, with the help of her friend Elizabeth Espinosa, at her home in Mexico City, Mexico on October 8, 2019.
Marisela Castillo Zavala is a 53 years-old single mother of one who lives in Mexico City. More than twenty years ago, Marisela and several friends went to the home of an alleged cosmetologist because they wanted to modify their bodies. Marisela was injected in the buttocks with five bottles of what she was told was collagen. Each bottle cost 3,500 Mexican Pesos (180 U.S. Dollars) at the time. Over time she discovered that she had been injected with a mixture of silicone and cooking oil. Five years after the injections, Marisela began to feel a burning sensation in her buttocks and her legs go hard. She was diagnosed with "human adjuvant disease by infiltration of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes” and fibromyalgia. The doctors had to partially amputate her buttocks. She has gone through eight removal and reconstructive surgeries and months without being able to sit down.
Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
Zucey shows the ulcers on her legs while sitting in her home in Mexico City, Mexico, on March 8, 2019. Zucey Gil is a 50-year-old woman living in Mexico City with her two children and is being treated for human adjuvant disease. Zucey was 22 years old when she received her first mineral oil injections for cosmetic purposes from the owner (also a dermatologist) of the beauty clinic she worked for and whom offered to inject all of her employees for free. At the time injectables were all the rage, the majority of patients were seeking injections. Most of them are dead now states Zucey. Obsession over her own physique, Zucey has had five nose jobs and two eye contour treatments. After several years, ulcers and infections began to appear on her legs. Despite her condition and contrary to her doctors’ opinions, she decided to continue with the pregnancy of her second child. Today he is nine-years-old. Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
Bety poses for a photo in the Alameda Central in Mexico City, Mexico on March 23, 2019.
Bety is a 54-year-old trans woman living in Mexico City with human adjuvant disease. She was 19 years old when she first received mineral oil injections into her breast and buttocks from a friend. Bety latched on to the so-called "mineral oil fever" that spread among the trans community in the 1980s. She injected herself in various parts of her body and injected dozens of others. Bety saw the terrible consequences that these injections caused in her own body and in her community, but she feels no fault for injecting others, because she says she did it "to help.” Even knowing the risks, trans women insist on transforming their female body with these injections. “Today, trans women continue to get all sorts of injections,” affirms Bety.
Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
Three, one-liter bottles of Bio-Silik, a biopolymer made of liquid silicone, sit on a bureau belonging to a trans sex worker, in the bedroom of her home in Naucalpan de Juarez, State of Mexico, Mexico on October 25, 2019. She has been injecting biopolymer fillers into both trans and heterosexuals for 12 years, currently charging 9,000 pesos, (about 466.00 U.S. dollars), per one-liter injection. She administers the “clandestine” treatments, which she admits are illicit, in her home or in other private places. She understands that she is putting her clients at risk, and according to her they also understand the risks, but at the same time she says she enjoys helping them sculpt their bodies. When she was 12 years she had mineral oil injected in her chest for breast augmentation, resulting in terrible consequences. Even so, she went on to inject herself with fillers in the buttocks and lips for cosmetic purposes. Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
Palmira takes the stage during a fashion and talent show featuring models with disabilities in Azcapotzalco, a northwestern municipality of Mexico City, Mexico on December 8, 2018.
Palmira Bothi Garcia is a 49-year-old trans woman who lives in Mexico City. Palmira received buttock augmentation injections at the age of 17 and as a result is now being treated for human adjuvant disease. She has never had surgery to remove the foreign materials and today her legs are either atrophied or rock hard, black, bent at a 90-degree angle and covered in ulcers. Living with the disease has markedly changed Palmira’s life. She realizes that she is at significant risk of a severe infection. Her mother has moved in to help with household chores and do the shopping. A year ago she left her job as a hairstylist after she was confined to a wheelchair. Nowadays she works at the Institute for the Disabled in Mexico City. “I believe that 95% of those who have received injections are damaged.” She says.
Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
Palmira lies in bed with her dogs at her home in Mexico City on March 2, 2019.
Palmira Bothi Garcia is a 49-year-old trans woman who lives in Mexico City. Palmira received buttock augmentation injections at the age of 17 and as a result is now being treated for human adjuvant disease. She has never had surgery to remove the foreign materials and today her legs are either atrophied or rock hard, black, bent at a 90-degree angle and covered in ulcers. Living with the disease has markedly changed Palmira’s life. She realizes that she is at significant risk of a severe infection. Her mother has moved in to help with household chores and do the shopping. A year ago she left her job as a hairstylist after she was confined to a wheelchair. Nowadays she works at the Institute for the Disabled in Mexico City. “I believe that 95% of those who have received injections are damaged.” She says.
Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
Palmira’s 69-year-old mother Juana Garcia Lopez cooks breakfast at their home in Mexico City, Mexico on March 2, 2019.
Palmira Bothi Garcia is a 49-year-old trans woman who lives in Mexico City. Palmira received buttock augmentation injections at the age of 17 and as a result is now being treated for human adjuvant disease. She has never had surgery to remove the foreign materials and today her legs are either atrophied or rock hard, black, bent at a 90-degree angle and covered in ulcers. Living with the disease has markedly changed Palmira’s life. She realizes that she is at significant risk of a severe infection. Her mother has moved in to help with household chores and do the shopping. A year ago she left her job as a hairstylist after she was confined to a wheelchair. Nowadays she works at the Institute for the Disabled in Mexico City. “I believe that 95% of those who have received injections are damaged.” She says.
Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
Palmira applies hand creme at her home in Mexico City, Mexico on March 2, 2019.
Palmira Bothi Garcia is a 49-year-old trans woman who lives in Mexico City. Palmira received buttock augmentation injections at the age of 17 and as a result is now being treated for human adjuvant disease. She has never had surgery to remove the foreign materials and today her legs are either atrophied or rock hard, black, bent at a 90-degree angle and covered in ulcers. Living with the disease has markedly changed Palmira’s life. She realizes that she is at significant risk of a severe infection. Her mother has moved in to help with household chores and do the shopping. A year ago she left her job as a hairstylist after she was confined to a wheelchair. Nowadays she works at the Institute for the Disabled in Mexico City. “I believe that 95% of those who have received injections are damaged.” She says.
Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
Dr. Adriana Lozano Platonoff, a wound care specialist, attends to Palmira during her monthly check-up at the Dr. Manuel Gea Gonzalez General Hospital in Mexico City, Mexico on November 22, 2018.
Palmira Bothi Garcia is a 49-year-old trans woman who lives in Mexico City. Palmira received buttock augmentation injections at the age of 17 and as a result is now being treated for human adjuvant disease. She has never had surgery to remove the foreign materials and today her legs are either atrophied or rock hard, black, bent at a 90-degree angle and covered in ulcers. Living with the disease has markedly changed Palmira’s life. She realizes that she is at significant risk of a severe infection. Her mother has moved in to help with household chores and do the shopping. A year ago she left her job as a hairstylist after she was confined to a wheelchair. Nowadays she works at the Institute for the Disabled in Mexico City. “I believe that 95% of those who have received injections are damaged.” She says.
Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
Dr. Adriana Lozano Platonoff, a wound care specialist, attends to Palmira during her monthly check-up at the Dr. Manuel Gea Gonzalez General Hospital in Mexico City, Mexico on November 22, 2018.
Palmira Bothi Garcia is a 49-year-old trans woman who lives in Mexico City. Palmira received buttock augmentation injections at the age of 17 and as a result is now being treated for human adjuvant disease. She has never had surgery to remove the foreign materials and today her legs are either atrophied or rock hard, black, bent at a 90-degree angle and covered in ulcers. Living with the disease has markedly changed Palmira’s life. She realizes that she is at significant risk of a severe infection. Her mother has moved in to help with household chores and do the shopping. A year ago she left her job as a hairstylist after she was confined to a wheelchair. Nowadays she works at the Institute for the Disabled in Mexico City. “I believe that 95% of those who have received injections are damaged.” She says.
Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
Dr. Adriana Lozano Platonoff, a wound care specialist, attends to Palmira during her monthly check-up at the Dr. Manuel Gea Gonzalez General Hospital in Mexico City, Mexico on November 22, 2018.
Palmira Bothi Garcia is a 49-year-old trans woman who lives in Mexico City. Palmira received buttock augmentation injections at the age of 17 and as a result is now being treated for human adjuvant disease. She has never had surgery to remove the foreign materials and today her legs are either atrophied or rock hard, black, bent at a 90-degree angle and covered in ulcers. Living with the disease has markedly changed Palmira’s life. She realizes that she is at significant risk of a severe infection. Her mother has moved in to help with household chores and do the shopping. A year ago she left her job as a hairstylist after she was confined to a wheelchair. Nowadays she works at the Institute for the Disabled in Mexico City. “I believe that 95% of those who have received injections are damaged.” She says.
Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
Palmira participates in a flash mob marking International Day of Persons with Disabilities at the Monument to the Revolution, in Mexico City on November 11, 2018.
Palmira Bothi Garcia is a 49-year-old trans woman who lives in Mexico City. Palmira received buttock augmentation injections at the age of 17 and as a result is now being treated for human adjuvant disease. She has never had surgery to remove the foreign materials and today her legs are either atrophied or rock hard, black, bent at a 90-degree angle and covered in ulcers. Living with the disease has markedly changed Palmira’s life. She realizes that she is at significant risk of a severe infection. Her mother has moved in to help with household chores and do the shopping. A year ago she left her job as a hairstylist after she was confined to a wheelchair. Nowadays she works at the Institute for the Disabled in Mexico City. “I believe that 95% of those who have received injections are damaged.” She says.
Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
Kenya portrayed at Casa de las Muñecas Tiresias AC (House of Dolls) in Mexico City, Mexico on march 23, 2019.
Kenya Cuevas is a 45 years-old trans woman who lives in Chalco, state of Mexico, Mexico. She is a recognized activist for the rights of trans women and the founder of Casa de las Muñecas Tiresias AC (House of Dolls), an organization that defends the rights of trans women and denounces feminicides of trans women. Kenya is employed by the Mexico City government, training public officials in the promotion of equality and non-discrimination for the LGBT community. Previously, she worked as a sex worker and said all her fellow sex workers received injections for cosmetic purposes. After much thought, she agreed to have a liter of a biopolymer filler injected into her buttocks by a friend in July of 2018. The friend, a fellow trans sex worker, is an unlicensed practitioner but learned to give injections. Kenya was well aware of the risks from injectables but she did it for economic necessity. She believed the more curvaceous, the more clients. She is not ruling out the possibility of future injections. Kenya insists that trans women must resort to the practice of illegal injections as there are no public programs or services in place to help the transgender community achieve their physical transformations.
Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico
Kenya stands in a pair of She Hulk superhero leggings, in Mexico City, Mexico on May 4, 2019. After much thought, Kenya agreed to have a liter of a biopolymer filler injected into her buttocks last year, for a fuller, more feminine look.
Kenya Cuevas is a 45 years-old trans woman who lives in Chalco, state of Mexico, Mexico. She is a recognized activist for the rights of trans women and the founder of Casa de las Muñecas Tiresias AC (House of Dolls), an organization that defends the rights of trans women and denounces feminicides of trans women. Kenya is employed by the Mexico City government, training public officials in the promotion of equality and non-discrimination for the LGBT community. Previously, she worked as a sex worker and said all her fellow sex workers received injections for cosmetic purposes. After much thought, she agreed to have a liter of a biopolymer filler injected into her buttocks by a friend in July of 2018. The friend, a fellow trans sex worker, is an unlicensed practitioner but learned to give injections. Kenya was well aware of the risks from injectables but she did it for economic necessity. She believed the more curvaceous, the more clients. She is not ruling out the possibility of future injections. Kenya insists that trans women must resort to the practice of illegal injections as there are no public programs or services in place to help the transgender community achieve their physical transformations.
Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage t
Image Consultant Danielle Moreno assesses Kenya’s appearance, at Moreno’s studio in Mexico City, Mexico on May 4, 2019.
Kenya Cuevas is a 45 years-old trans woman who lives in Chalco, state of Mexico, Mexico. She is a recognized activist for the rights of trans women and the founder of Casa de las Muñecas Tiresias AC (House of Dolls), an organization that defends the rights of trans women and denounces feminicides of trans women. Kenya is employed by the Mexico City government, training public officials in the promotion of equality and non-discrimination for the LGBT community. Previously, she worked as a sex worker and said all her fellow sex workers received injections for cosmetic purposes. After much thought, she agreed to have a liter of a biopolymer filler injected into her buttocks by a friend in July of 2018. The friend, a fellow trans sex worker, is an unlicensed practitioner but learned to give injections. Kenya was well aware of the risks from injectables but she did it for economic necessity. She believed the more curvaceous, the more clients. She is not ruling out the possibility of future injections. Kenya insists that trans women must resort to the practice of illegal injections as there are no public programs or services in place to help the transgender community achieve their physical transformations.
Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and
Toña during a medical check up with Dr. Gabriel Medrano Ramírez, rheumatologist at the General Hospital in Mexico City, Mexico on September 4, 2019.
Toña Ascensio is a 56-year-old trans woman who works as a hair stylist and lives with her 90-year-old mother in Ecatepec, State of Mexico. A little less than 30 years ago a doctor injected silicone mixed with oil in different parts of her body: bust, buttocks, hips and legs. Several of her friends died from these injections, but Toña did not develop any symptoms for 25 years. Then, spots began to appear on her skin, hardening, becoming red and swollen. To reduce the inflammation she had to undergo a strong treatment, similar to chemotherapy.
Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
A trans sex worker portrayed at her home in Naucalpan de Juarez, State of Mexico, Mexico on October 25, 2019. She has been injecting biopolymer fillers into both trans and heterosexuals for 12 years, currently charging 9,000 pesos, (about 466.00 U.S. dollars), per one-liter injection. She administers the “clandestine” treatments, which she admits are illicit, in her home or in other private places. She understands that she is putting her clients at risk, and according to her they also understand the risks, but at the same time she says she enjoys helping them sculpt their bodies. When she was 12 years she had mineral oil injected in her chest for breast augmentation, resulting in terrible consequences. Even so, she went on to inject herself with fillers in the buttocks and lips for cosmetic purposes. Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
An image of a trans woman’s pelvic region photographed after a Bio-Silik injection, a biopolymer made of liquid silicone, into her buttocks, is seen on a cellphone of a trans sex worker who applied the injection, at her home in Naucalpan de Juarez, state of Mexico, Mexico on October 25, 2019. She has been injecting biopolymer fillers into both trans and heterosexuals for 12 years, currently charging 9,000 pesos, (about 466.00 U.S. dollars), per one-liter injection. She administers the “clandestine” treatments, which she admits are illicit, in her home or in other private places. She understands that she is putting her clients at risk, and according to her they also understand the risks, but at the same time she says she enjoys helping them sculpt their bodies. When she was 12 years she had mineral oil injected in her chest for breast augmentation, resulting in terrible consequences. Even so, she went on to inject herself with fillers in the buttocks and lips for cosmetic purposes. Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
Zucey is portrayed with her son at their home in Mexico City, Mexico on February 25, 2019. Zucey Gil is a 50-year-old woman living in Mexico City with her two children and is being treated for human adjuvant disease. Zucey was 22 years old when she received her first mineral oil injections for cosmetic purposes from the owner (also a dermatologist) of the beauty clinic she worked for and whom offered to inject all of her employees for free. At the time injectables were all the rage, the majority of patients were seeking injections. Most of them are dead now states Zucey. Obsession over her own physique, Zucey has had five nose jobs and two eye contour treatments. After several years, ulcers and infections began to appear on her legs. Despite her condition and contrary to her doctors’ opinions, she decided to continue with the pregnancy of her second child. Today he is nine-years-old. Human adjuvant disease, HAD, is a pathology caused by the injection of foreign substances for cosmetic purposes, and represents a serious health problem. Seeking simple, fast, cheap, painless and what some thought was a safe alternative to plastic surgery, the application of non-authorized modeling substances by untrained personnel has become a frequent practice. Nevertheless, the injections could lead - often several years after receiving them - to serious complications, even death. For some, it has caused irreversible damage to their physical health, self-esteem and quality of life. In Mexico, HAD is an existent problem. Between 2006 and 2018, Mexico City’s General Hospital has seen 4785 of these cases, according to their plastic and reconstructive surgery specialists. Photograph by Bénédicte Desrus
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The devastation caused by injecting foreign substances for cosmetic purposes into the body in Mexico.
The devastation caused by injecting foreign substances for cosmetic purposes into the body in mexico.
In the past fifteen years, thousands of people with worrying symptoms that include inflammations, severe skin disorders and immune system dysfunctions have caught the attention of Mexican doctors. The common factor appears to be the injection, years before, of mineral or vegetable oils, silicone or polymer fillers into the body or face for cosmetic purposes. These clandestine treatments, touted as an alternative to plastic surgery, were often performed by non-professionals who praised the immediate and spectacular results: sculptured features within anyone’s reach…
The delayed consequences are devastating. Human adjuvant disease, “Enfermedad por modelantes” as Mexican doctors named it, is incurable and can be fatal. The patients, predominantly women, submit to multiple surgeries to alleviate the pain. However, the physical degradation and chronic pain have catastrophic effects on their lives. Today these injections are still in demand, particularly amongst transgender and transsexual women. Even though they are aware of the risks, the desire to transform their bodies often takes precedence.
In Mexico, human adjuvant disease remains a taboo. The shame and denial on the part of the patients or the ignorance of medical staff have kept the real number of persons affected undetermined.
In the course of this reportage, several of the women affected by this disease speak of their experiences, their journey on what they describe as a medical ordeal, the social exclusion they impose on themselves, as well as the culture of secrecy that they foster around their condition.
