Professionals at a Florida cosmetic surgery clinic have been arrested for performing $22,000 worth of procedures that left four patients with devastating disfigurements.
The five incriminated staff members posed as doctors, when in fact none of them were licensed to practice medicine, much less operate on patients.
The surgeries ranged from abdominoplasty to breast surgery, and left victims with horrific complications, including crooked eyes, rotting skin, and breast implants that “protruded” from the skin.
Four of the alleged perpetrators, who were nurses and surgical technicians, have been arrested near the clinic called Cosmetic Plastic Surgery and Anti-Aging, in Port St Lucie, Florida. One is still at large.
Victims of catastrophic errors face the cost and arduous process of undergoing reconstructive surgery to correct defects inflicted by surgical technicians and anesthetists.
Dr. Greg DeLang, a plastic surgeon at a nearby Palm Beach Gardens office who treated some of the patients’ injuries, said, “We had breast implants that came out of the skin because they were performed by untrained personnel. We had eye lifts asymmetrical: one high and one low.’
Dr. Greg DeLang, a plastic surgeon at a nearby Palm Beach Gardens office who treated some of the patients’ injuries, said, “We had breast implants that were coming out of the skin.”
The arrests came after several victims told the local Health Department that they had sought corrective treatment from other surgeons after undergoing procedures performed by Adley DaSilva, 51, Kiomy Quintiana, 41, Fermal Lee Simpson, 74 years, and Dianne Linda Millan, 52 years old. and a fifth person whose name police did not mention.
They were charged in terms typically reserved for the mob, RICO, or conduct or participation in the enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity, as well as fraud and practicing without a medical license, among other charges.
Dr. De Lang aggregate: ‘You have a good chance of doing the right job. You don’t get the second, third and fourth rounds, you just can’t. So do it right the first time.
The investigation began in May 2022, about a year before the clinic closed.
Victims of the botched surgeries received liposuction, Brazilian butt lift with fat transfer, abdominoplasty and breast augmentation, which cost between $6,800 and $22,900.
Police spoke with a doctor in August 2022 who was reportedly board certified since 1990. DaSilva was tasked with referring patients to the doctor, but those referrals were becoming fewer and fewer. Court records show the doctor later discovered the procedures were being performed incorrectly.
the doctor is quoted from an email saying: ‘Adley, we’ve seen a lot of patients on Instagram with surgeries you should NOT do.
‘These are not approved by me. I have to feel comfortable with you doing these surgeries. I also know that you are working with an unlicensed doctor. These surgeries are putting my license at risk.
Court records reveal that 90 percent of DaSilva’s procedures were performed when the doctor was not present. All but DaSilva were arrested on June 13. DaSilva was arrested a day later.
A doctor who treated one of the patients who had problems after going to the doctors informed the attorneys that he had “never seen anything close to the severity of her injuries.”
‘(Redacted) presented a large abdominal wound, fat necrosis, poorly positioned umbilical hernia and breast asymmetry. He had suicidal ideas.
Another surgeon said he “almost fainted” the first time he saw a patient “because of the severity of her condition from liposuction.”
Stories of botched surgeries are not unusual, especially given the growing popularity of butt lifts, breast augmentations, facial fat removal, and nose jobs.
But many of those stories come from clinics in other countries, such as Mexico and Turkey, whose doctors don’t have to meet the same strict standards as doctors in the United States.
Mexico is the most popular destination, with around 400,000 arrivals, although a considerable number also head to Canada and countries such as Thailand, Argentina and the Dominican Republic.
The key is to get a board-certified surgeon in the US, but this is generally more expensive than going abroad.