Florida Board Revokes Butt-lift Doctor’s License, Three Years After Patient Died

Florida’s Board of Medicine has revoked nan aesculapian licence of a expert who performed Brazilian butt-lift surgery, 3 years aft his licence was restricted aft a botched room killed a patient.

Dr. Christopher Walker, who had operated astatine a spa successful Orlando, punctured aggregate organs and humor vessels, causing nan 38-year-old diligent to bleed to death, according to nan Department of Health’s 2021 emergency licence action.

At a committee proceeding Dec. 5, Walker pleaded pinch nan committee to extremity short of afloat revoking his license, according to nan Orlando Sentinel and different Florida news reports. A Florida administrative rule judge successful June had recommended revocation. The Board of Medicine declined to spell easy and took action this week.

Walker should person been barred from practicing nan fat-transfer procedures successful Florida early on, acknowledgment to criminal charges he faced successful New York involving pelvic mesh claims, nan main counsel for nan Florida Department of Health said. The expert was yet sentenced to 2 months successful jailhouse and a good of $800,000 aft he pleaded blameworthy to utilizing kickbacks and enticing women to person nan mesh removed, past filing suit against nan mesh manufacturers successful bid to trigger larger settlements, nan Sentinel and Department of Health reported.

Walker grounded to disclose nan blameworthy plea connected his Florida licence renewal application, nan wellness section lawyer said.

The 2021 decease of Walker’s diligent was 1 of respective injuries and deaths of butt-lift patients successful Florida, which led authorities lawmakers to approve House Bill 1561 early this year. The bill, now law, requires astir butt-lifting clinics to get liability security sum of astatine slightest $250,000 per declare and an yearly aggregate of astatine slightest $750,000.

Physician offices must besides registry pinch nan authorities Department of Health, sloppy of whether nan liposuction process was considered impermanent aliases imperishable transportation of fat. Until this year, immoderate clinics were capable to debar registering and debar liability sum owed to nan wording of nan erstwhile Florida statute.

The caller rule besides raises penalties for those that do not register, allowing nan Department of Health to good doctors for aggregate offenses successful nan aforesaid day, according to a legislative study of nan bill. It besides requires much inspections and adherence to information procedures astatine clinics.

Related: Another Butt-Lift Doctor Banned from Surgery After Second Patient Dies astatine Clinic

Topics Florida