Practitioners at a Florida cosmetic surgery clinic have been arrested for performing $22,000 procedures that left four patients with devastating disfigurements.
The five incriminated members of staff posed as doctors, when in fact none had a license to practice medicine, let alone operate on patients.
The surgeries ranged from tummy tucks to boob jobs, and left victims with horrific complications including wonky eyes, rotting skin and breast implants that were ‘poking’ out of 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 remains at large.
Victims of the catastrophic mistakes face the cost and arduous process of undergoing reconstructive surgery to correct the flaws 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 coming out of the skin because they were done by non-trained personnel. We had asymmetrical eye lifts — one was high, one was 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 coming out of the skin’
The arrests occurred after several victims told the local Department of Health that they’d sought corrective treatment from other surgeons after undergoing procedures performed by Adley DaSilva, 51, Kiomy Quintiana, 41, Fermal Lee Simpson, 74, and Dianne Linda Millan, 52, and a fifth person who police did not name.
They were charged on terms typically reserved for the mafia, RICO, or conduct of 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 DeLang added: ‘You get one good chance to do the proper work. You don’t get rounds second, third and fourth, you just can’t. So, do it right the first time.’
The investigation started in May 2022, about a year before the clinic closed.
The victims of the botched surgeries received liposuction, Brazilian butt lifts with fat transfer, tummy tucks, and breast augmentations, which cost anywhere from $6,800 up to $22,900.
Police spoke with a doctor in August 2022 who was reportedly board-certified since 1990. Mr DaSilva was tasked with referring patients to the doctor, but those referrals became fewer and fewer. Court records show the doctor later discovered procedures were being done improperly.
The doctor is quoted from an email as saying: ‘Adley, (w)e have seen many patients in Instagram with surgeries you should NOT be doing.
‘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 un-licensed doctor. These surgeries are risking my license.’
Court records reveal that 90 percent of DaSilva’s procedures were done when the doctor was not there. All but DaSilva were arrested on June 13. DaSilva was arrested a day later.
A doctor who treated one of the patients who had issues after going to clinicians reported to attorneys that he had ‘never seen anything quite like the severity of her injuries.
‘(Redacted) presented with a large abdominal wound, fat necrosis, mal-positioned umbilical hernia and asymmetry of the breasts. She had suicidal ideations.’
Another surgeon said he ‘almost passed out’ the first time he saw a female patient ‘due to the severity of her condition due to the liposuction.’
Stories of botched surgeries are not unusual, especially given the rising popularity of butt lifts, breast augmentation, fat suction from the face, and nose jobs.
But many of those stories come from clinics in other countries, such as Mexico and Turkey, whose clinicians do not have to abide by the same strict standards doctors in the US are required to follow.
Mexico is the most popular destination, with about 400,000 arrivals, although a sizeable number also head to Canada and countries including 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 overseas.
