Complaint against Miami New Life plastic surgeon after BBL

Another Florida Department of Health administrative complaint has been filed involving New Life Plastic Surgery and New Life’s Dr. Julio Clavijo-Alvarez, this one accusing the doctor of causing a Brazilian butt lift patient’s post-surgery hospitalization then failing to note any post-op problems.

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Administrative complaints start the process to potential disciplinary action and this is complaint No. 3 pending against Clavijo-Alvarez aka Dr. JC Alvarez.

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▪ A complaint filed in September said a state inspector visiting New Life, 8400 SW Eighth St., saw prescriptions for oxycodone and diazepam with Clavijo-Alvarez’s signature and without any patient’s name or date sitting in an unsecured area.

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READ MORE: Miami surgery center lists 8 doctors. Liposuction patients of 3 died from 2020-22

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▪ Clavijo-Alvarez is no longer listed as on the staff of Miami Lakes Cosmetic Surgery aka Jireh Cosmetic Center, 15450 New Barn Rd. But, when he was listed as the designated physician there, a state inspector found numerous violations. When that happens, complaints get filed against the office surgery center and against the person in charge of compliance, the designated physician.

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READ MORE: Unqualified staff, illegal surgeries at a Miami Lakes plastic surgery office?

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The latest complaint against Clavijo-Alvarez, who lists a Coral Gables office as his license address, concerns a 2021 Brazilian butt lift (BBL) surgery at New Life.

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Drain and pain

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The normal procedure for a BBL surgery, a form of liposuction that moves fat from the abdomen and injects it into the buttock area: once the surgery finishes at an office surgery center, such as New Life, the patient is moved to a recovery center. The patient never touches the sheets at a regular hospital.

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READ MORE: The recovery house next door: Unlicensed plastic surgery centers take root in suburban homes

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But, the complaint says, “Patient J.D.” wound up at two Jackson Hospital facilities after Clavijo-Alvarez cut on her on Oct. 28, 2021 at New Life.

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The complaint says Clavijo-Alvarez used a Jackson-Pratt drain, which the Cleveland Clinic says is “a surgical suction drain that gently draws fluid from a wound to help you recover after surgery.”

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Using such a drain wasn’t the problem, the complaint said, as much as Clavijo-Alvarez putting the drain under J.D.’s rectus adbominis muscles “and inside J.D.’s abdominal cavity.”

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The complaint said putting a Jackson-Pratt drain there violates the “prevailing professional standard of care.”

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J.D., the complaint said, went to Doral’s Jackson West Medical Center, 2801 NW 79th Ave., on Oct. 29, 2021, “with worsening back pain and abdominal pain.” Jackson West sent her to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami later that day.

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Three days later, JMH doctors removed the drain.

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The complaint says Clavijo-Alvarez “documented meeting with J.D. at New Life” on Nov. 3, 2021, but “reported that J.D. had not experienced any pain since the BBL procedure on Oct. 28, 2021” and didn’t keep any records related to J.D.’s trips to Jackson West or JMH.

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This story was originally published March 17, 2024, 2:54 p.m.