Benjamin Brown’s wife, 33-year-old Hillary Brown, died following surgical procedures performed by her husband.
(Second-degree murder is defined as murder that is not premeditated.)
(Hillary Brown worked in her husband’s office, but was not a licensed health care practitioner.)
Collage: Ingrid Fowler; source images: Getty Images
Lidocaine isa local anestheticthat is administered by IV and used to numb pain by blocking nerve endings.
It does not cause unconsciousness.
It results in toxicity to the neurological and cardiovascular systems.
However, Dr. Doft notes that lidocaine toxicity is not always fatal.
Dr. Brown was released from Santa Rosa County Jail on a $50,000 bond.
What’s not shocking, however, is to hear of a plastic surgeon operating on their spouse.
It’s not as uncommon as you might thinkand it’s certainly not a new phenomenon.
By the 1980s, however, cosmetic procedures were an accepted specialtyone of the fastest growing in American medicine.
(In the same survey, 88 percent said theywouldoperate on a spouse or family member.)
A 2010 survey of 465 plastic surgeons revealed that 83.9 percent had operated on a spouse or family member.
And a plastic surgeon may feel differently when working on an aunt or uncle versus their spouse.
Operating on spouses is a grey area in medicine, says Dr. Doft.
In Dr. Doft’s practice, liposuction patients are given IV sedation with an anesthesiologist present at all times.
Therefore, we’re not relying on pre-operative medications for sedation or high doses of lidocaine.
