Cosmetic surgery patient left with rotten skin to get $13 million

A Washington state woman has been awarded $13 million in a lawsuit after multiple plastic surgeries gone wrong.

The patient, Nasra Elmi, underwent multiple cosmetic procedures despite being a poor candidate for the surgeries due to her diabetes, which led to severe injuries, according to a statement of the patient’s lawyers.

Kristine Brecht, a cosmetic surgeon at “exclusive surgery office” Aesthetic Rejuvenation & Spa, performed liposuction on multiple sites on Elmi’s body, as well as a full tummy tuck, arm lift and breast lift on the patient over the course of two days.

The lawsuit alleges that Brecht did not examine the patient to see how well her diabetes was controlled, warn the patient that her diabetes could put her at risk for skin necrosis and healing problems, or treat post-surgical site infections.

Diabetes can lead to poor circulation, which means the limbs and other parts of the body have less blood flow to them. This can lead to slower healing and less immune response, and therefore, can lead to wounds becoming infected much more easily. Diabetics often end up needing toe or toe amputations due to non-healing wounds or ulcers: about 73,000 non-trauma-related lower extremity amputations are performed on diabetics in the US each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC).

Pictures of Elmi’s injuries in the statement of claim Show how the skin on her stomach and arms died of infection in the days following the surgery. The lawsuit also says that too much skin was cut during the surgeries, leading to excessive scarring on the patient.

Additionally, instead of using general anesthesia during the surgery, Brecht used a cocktail of oral sedatives, including oxycodone and lorazepam, which the lawsuit claims caused the patient to experience memory loss. Handcuffs and weights are also said in the lawsuit to have been used to restrain other patients during surgery.

Brecht also checked the patient’s vital signs only every 15 minutes as opposed to the ideal 3 to 5 minute intervals, and discharged the patient only 30 minutes after the operation was completed.

After the surgery, when the patient expressed concerns about the healing process and her scars, Brecht told her that her “unique” skin and “innate” healing problems were to blame, and that she was just a “slow healer.”

Brecht claimed to be trained and board certified in plastic surgery, but it was found that she was not actually eligible for board certification in any surgical specialty. Furthermore, no other doctor could vouch for the use of the anesthetic method—known as “Cinderella anesthesia”—that he gave Elmi.

“Many people don’t realize that the medical profession is largely self-regulated, which makes it very difficult for patients to know whether their doctors are properly trained and competent until it’s too late,” said Ruby Aliment, chief adviser for the plaintiffs and an attorney with Bergman Oslund Udo Little (BOUL), a Pacific Northwest law firm focused on catastrophic injury cases, told local media B-town Blog.

Elmi was awarded more than $13 million by the jury, including $5 million for past damages and $6 million for future losses. Brecht’s license was also suspended.

“People judge you and don’t understand the pain you’re going through and I was worried people would blame me for what happened,” Elmi told the B-town Blog. “The jury’s verdict was like a huge weight lifted off me, I’m so grateful to them and my legal team, and I’m relieved that justice has finally been served. Although Dr. Brecht has no regrets, because of this jury. I feel that I can finally close this book and try to move on with my life, I just hope that Dr. Brecht can’t practice again and that she can’t go out and slaughter someone else.”

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