Plastic surgeon charged after wife dies following after-hours procedures

A plastic surgeon has been charged after his wife suffered a cardiac arrest and died days after he performed after-hours procedures on her, authorities said.

Dr Benjamin Brown, 41, was arrested on a charge of manslaughter by culpable negligence on Monday after allegedly carrying out the treatments at his clinic in Florida in November last year, Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office said.

Hillary Brown was taken to hospital and died a week later, the sheriff's office said.

The 33-year-old had been unsupervised by her husband, or any other healthcare practitioner, when she prepared her own local anaesthesia and filled intravenous bags for procedures which included arm liposuction, lip injections and an ear adjustment, according to a complaint filed by the Florida Department of Health.

She also ingested several pills, including a painkiller and antibiotic, before falling into a sedated state, the complaint adds.

The department of health said the "minimum prevailing professional standard of care" requires that plastic surgeons do not allow a patient to prepare medication for their own surgery.

During the procedures, Mrs Brown's feet began twitching and she told her husband her vision was starting to blur and she saw "orange", the complaint said.

Brown is then said to have injected more lidocaine, an anaesthetic, into her face.

The department of health said she became unresponsive and had a seizure.

A medical assistant asked 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 for paramedics, and he said, "no" or "wait," the complaint adds.

When his wife's breathing became shallow and her pulse and blood oxygen levels became low, Brown is said to have told his assistants to call 911 before he began performing resuscitation efforts on her.

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The Florida Department of Health filed its administrative complaint before the state Board of Medicine last month.

The complaint, which involved Mrs Brown's case and other cases, was seeking penalties against Brown up to the revocation or suspension of his license.

The department also issued an emergency order restricting Brown's licence to performing procedures only at a hospital under the supervision of another physician.

Mrs Brown had given injections and performed laser treatment on patients even though she was not a licensed healthcare practitioner, the order said.

Addressing the procedures involving his wife last November, the order noted that muscle twitches and blurred vision are early signs of lidocaine toxicity.

The order described Brown's treatment of his wife as "careless and haphazard".

"The level of disregard that Dr Brown paid to patient safety, even when the patient was his wife, indicates that Dr Brown is unwilling or incapable of providing the appropriate level of care his future patients," the order says.

Brown has been released from Santa Rosa County Jail after posting a $50,000 bond.