The criminal charges are related to a civil lawsuit filed by a Newport News man who claims a hair transplant in February did not go according to plan
NORFOLK, Va. — A Norfolk-based pediatrician is facing criminal charges as well as civil penalties after charges stemming from a hair transplant procedure that allegedly went wrong earlier this year.
Kent Reifschneider, 50, is charged with one count of conspiracy to perform an invasive procedure without a license and one felony count of performing an invasive procedure without a license.
According to a spokesperson for Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters, Reifschneider is a pediatric endocrinologist employed by Children’s Specialty Group, PLLC, which is “an independent practice with which CHKD contracts to provide medical subspecialty services to CHKD patients.” .
“While this indictment is completely unrelated to the care provided to CHKD patients, CHKD will comply with all aspects of the investigation,” they added.
Dr. Reifschneider is on administrative leave.
According to booking information, Dr. Reifschneider was arrested on November 27 and posted bail the same day.
The indictments for his arrest reveal that the charges stem from incidents “on or about February 2.”
“tremendous pain”
A civil lawsuit filed in late October alleges medical malpractice and violations of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act related to a hair transplant procedure on February 2, 2023.
The complaint states that a Newport News man agreed to a hair transplant procedure after initially being told that “a licensed surgeon would perform his procedure” at Virginia Surgical Hair Center in Virginia Beach.
On Feb. 2, the man “briefly encountered defendant Kent Reifschneider,” but was reportedly “not on VSHC property, but rather at a location at CHKD that is actively treating patients.”
“Kent Reifschneider made it look like he was going to participate and participate in the process, he made him [client] they feel more comfortable. But I had nothing but that appearance,” said Matt Weinberg, an attorney at Inman & Strickler, PLC.
The complaint states that in early March, the plaintiff’s face “revealed significant and permanent scarring.” By mid-March, the complaint states, the plaintiff’s “pain, redness, lumps and swelling had not subsided.”
“[Client] underwent an hour-long operation, there was no doctor, which is against the regulation. Not even a nurse was present, who would have been able to perform an invasive procedure if there was a doctor supervising it. We later learned that Reifschneider was actually seeing patients at CHKD that day, but he said, ‘Oh, I’m going to be a part of this surgery,’ and he wasn’t,” Weinberg said.
Four people are named as defendants in the civil suit, including Reifschneider.
One of the other defendants named in the civil suit is “Danielle Kirby Mctyre.” The Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office confirms that a “Danielle Kirby Reifschneider” is also charged with one count of “Conspiracy to perform an invasive procedure without a license.”
Weinberg told 13News Now, as they understand it, the two are married.
In total monetary relief, the plaintiff in the civil action is seeking more than $10 million in damages, alleging “carelessness” and negligence and that the actions of Dr. of care”.
https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/crime/norfolk-doctor-who-works-at-chkd-charged-with-performing-invasive-procedure-without-license-related-to-hair-transplant/291-d46eb2b1-dbbd-4f26-a52e-3c03ae780fb2
