Plastic surgeon charged in death of wife who went into cardiac arrest
PENSACOLA, Fla. — A plastic surgeon in the Florida Panhandle was charged in the death of his wife after she went into cardiac arrest and died days after performing after-hours procedures on her at his clinic last year, authorities said.
Benjamin Brown was arrested Monday on a charge of culpable negligence manslaughter, which is a second-degree felony. He was released from the Santa Rosa County Jail after posting $50,000 bail.
There was no online court filing for Brown as of Tuesday morning, so it was unknown if he had an attorney. No one answered the phone at his clinic.
According to the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, Brown’s wife, Hillary Brown, went into cardiac arrest in November while her husband was performing procedures on her at his Pensacola clinic. She was taken to a hospital and died a week later, the sheriff’s office said.
Last month, the Florida Department of Health filed an administrative complaint with the state Board of Medicine seeking sanctions against Brown, up to the revocation or suspension of his license. The complaint concerned his wife’s case and other matters.
Without supervision from her husband or another health care practitioner, Hillary Brown prepared her own local anesthetic and filled intravenous bags for the procedures, which included arm liposuction, lip injections and ear correction, according to the Department of Health complaint.
She also took several pills, including a sedative, painkiller and antibiotic, before entering a sedated state, although consumption of those pills was not documented, the complaint said.
“The minimum prevailing professional standard of care requires that physicians not allow a patient to prepare medications for use in their own practice,” the complaint said.
During the procedures, Hillary Brown’s feet began to shake and she told her husband that her vision began to blur and she looked “orange.” Benjamin Brown injected more lidocaine, an anesthetic, into her face. The Department of Health said she became unresponsive and suffered a seizure.
A medical assistant asked Benjamin Brown if they should call 911, and he said “no,” according to the complaint. Over the next 10 or 20 minutes, the medical assistant repeated her question about whether they should call paramedics, and he said, “No” or “wait,” the complaint said.
When Hillary Brown’s breathing became shallow and her heart rate and blood oxygen levels became low, after about 10 to 20 minutes, Benjamin Brown told his aides to call 911 and began performing CPR efforts on her, according to the complaint.
Also last month, the Department of Health issued an emergency order limiting Benjamin Brown’s license to performing procedures only in a hospital under the supervision of another doctor. His wife had given injections and performed laser treatments on patients even though she was not a licensed physician, the warrant said.
Addressing the procedures involving his wife last November, the command noted that muscle twitching and blurred vision are early signs of lidocaine toxicity. The order described Benjamin Brown’s treatment of his wife as “careless and haphazard.”
“The level of contempt shown by Dr. Brown paid attention to patient safety, even if the patient was his wife, indicates that Dr. Brown is unwilling or unable to provide the appropriate level of care to his prospective patients,” the order said.