On June 17, 2024, plastic surgeon Dr. Benjamin Brown was arrested in connection with the death of his wife, Hillary. We did a podcast episode about this case in December 2023, and these new updates are really great. Listen to the original episode here.
What we knew at the time was that Ben was performing Hilary's surgery at his hospital in Florida.
Ben turned himself in on June 17th. He was booked into the Santa Rosa County Jail and charged with manslaughter, a second-degree felony. He was granted $50,000 bail at his first court appearance Monday afternoon.
The 30-page report has been released, and we've learned more about Hilary's death and Ben's other questionable practices.
Ben was the owner and operator of Restore Plastic Surgery in Pensacola, Florida. All clinics where doctors perform level 2 or 3 procedures must be registered with the Department of Health and undergo annual inspections. Ben says he is only registered to perform level 1 surgeries at Restore, so he has never been registered or inspected by the department.
Restore's medical assistants said the practice is starting to decline in 2021. Ben began delegating more and more authority to his physician assistants, Sean Kirby and Hillary. Hillary was not a licensed medical practitioner, she was not licensed to practice medicine, including cosmetic procedures, and she could not legally perform the procedures at Restore.
Medical assistants said the practices were dirty and poorly managed.
Ben reportedly stored drugs, including controlled substances, in an unlocked cabinet. Witnesses said employees would pull 'Versed' off the list to “get rid of the edge.”
Employees also said Restore management was 'noisy and poorly managed' and that Ben could be vindictive.
The document details Ben's previous patients. In August 2021, a patient known as BF met Ben. She wanted to discuss breast implant replacement, tummy tuck surgery, liposuction, and butt fat injection surgery.
During the consultation, Ben also recommended that the patient undergo gluteal fat injections, also known as a Brazilian butt lift. The patient stated that she did not want to undergo this procedure and specifically stated that she did not allow Ben to inject fat into her buttocks.
Despite this, Ben inaccurately recorded in his patient record that he wanted a BBL.
The surgery was scheduled for October 25, 2021. The patient presented to Baptist Hospital for a primary procedure, which included a tummy tuck, breast implant replacement, and liposuction. Along with these procedures, Ben also conducted BBL. He injected 1,100ml of fat into each side of her buttocks.
The patient said he felt severe pain, blurred vision, and swelling after the procedure. Her incisions also opened and started leaking.
The patient returned to Restore one month later, on October 25, 2021. She was scheduled to undergo scar revision surgery, which Ben had commissioned from Sean Kirby. She said the patient was crying in excruciating pain, describing the process as 'sheer torture'.
Sean cut away large sections of skin and fat, creating large open wounds across the patient's abdomen.
There were many infertility issues during the surgery. Despite the serious injuries, none of those involved were wearing surgical face masks. Seam and his assistants wore jewelry and watches under their gloves, which was not a sterile procedure.
They also repeatedly placed gauze on the exposed patient's abdomen and used the gauze to stop the bleeding.
On December 2, 20213, the patient removed the bandage from his wound and discovered a deep hole in his stomach. She returned to Restoration Hospital on December 7, 2021 for her wound resection. During this appointment, Ben was unable to document details of his injuries.
The patient visited Restore again on April 4, 2022 and underwent abdominal liposuction and abdominal scar correction. Sean and Ben worked together on this. Sean did not wear a surgical mask while suturing the patient.
The patient returned to Restore on February 7, 2023 for laser treatment of the abdomen, navel, and breast. This is classified as a medical practice and should not be performed by an unlicensed person. Nonetheless, Hillary underwent laser treatment.
The patient visited the restoration center again on March 9, 2023 for scar correction. Again, Hillary (unlicensed) performed the procedure.
The patient spoke to the Department of Health in February 2024. She said that after receiving her treatment, her body is now damaged.
Another patient, Mr. JH, visited Restore for his first consultation in September 2022. She wanted to discuss plastic surgery, including breast implant removal. This patient also specifically stated that he did not want a BBL. Nonetheless, Ben noted that the patient wanted to undergo a BBL.
The patient's surgery date was set for November 18, 2022. Ben performed liposuction on the back, sides, and abdomen, abdominoplasty, breast implant removal, and fat grafting on the chest and buttocks. Shortly after surgery, the abdominal incision opened and fluid began to leak.
The patient returned to restoration to discuss the leak. She also confronted Ben about her own ass at this time. Ben told the patient that he had performed a BBL and thought the patient would ‘like it’.
Ben told the patient he was concerned about abdominal distension and placed him in a compression garment.
The patient visited Restoration Hospital again on December 5, 2022 and received a checkup. Ben did not create or maintain any records of these appointments. On December 7, the patient visited Restore again. The medical assistant removes the compression garment and discovers necrosis of the abdominal skin.
The patient returned on December 20, 2022, for the procedure. Again, Ben didn't document any of this. Ben said he examined the patient for necrotic skin and said it needed to be removed. He drilled a hole in his abdomen 7 inches long, 4 inches wide and half an inch deep. Ben attempted to suture the area, but the stitches split. He wrapped the open wound with acetic acid and gauze and sent me home.
Surprisingly, the open wound did not heal. The patient relapsed twice in late December and early January. Ben removed excess fat from the wound and changed the dressing. Again, no records were kept.
On January 4, 2023, the patient returned to the hospital to attempt wound closure. Ben tried to stitch up the edges, but the patient said the wound got worse. He then told the patient that his office was not responsible for treating the wound and offered to pay someone else to fix the problem. Ben became angry with the patient and said 'everything was a mess'.
Eventually, the patient's friend took her to the emergency room. The consulting doctor examined her wounds and told her they were 'horrible' and that she had never seen anything like it, she said. To this day, the patient continues to experience ongoing pain.
On November 21, 2023, Hilary was scheduled to undergo the procedure with Ben at Restore. She was scheduled to undergo a mini-muscle fusion, abdominal scar revision, bilateral arm liposuction, lip injections, and ear revision procedures.
Hillary prepared her own solutions of lidocaine, epinephrine, and sodium bicarbonate. At about 11am she took ‘a handful’ of pills containing Valium. Afterwards, she reportedly experienced a sedative effect.
Despite being sedated, Hilary removed the patient's stitches after he had taken all his medications.
The office closed to the public around 1 p.m. A medical assistant prepared the operating room for Hilary's surgery.
Hillary got another dose of Versed.
The report records what happened next.
Everyone started to panic. The assistants tried to find other items but were unable to find them. They didn't even know if the office had a crash cart or AED. Ben asked someone to bring him a stethoscope, but no one could find it. Ben started asking her staff, 'What medication did she take?' What did she take?'
After about 10 to 20 minutes, Hilary's breathing became shallow. Ben asked his assistant to call 911 and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The assistant called 911 at 4:13 p.m. and requested an ambulance. Soon after, first responders arrived and Hilary was taken to the hospital because her lactate levels were elevated and her lidocaine toxicity was suspected. She never regained her consciousness and she ultimately died on November 28, 2023.
Source List
https://www.pnj.com/story/news/crime/2024/06/17/ben-brown-gulf-breeze-plastic-surgeon-arrested-what-we-know/74129300007