Nearly a year ago, a botched Brazilian Butt Lift, or BBL, surgery led to the death of Tanesha Walker. The surgeon who operated received a $10,000 fine and costs for the investigation plus a mandated one-hour lecture.
According to Atlanta Black Star, members of the Florida Board of Medicine settled with Dr. Oliver Simmons, the Miami plastic surgeon who illegally injected fat into Walker’s gluteal muscles during the BBL operation. The botched surgery led to Walker’s death on April 20, 2022.
The doctor, who is employed by New Life Plastic Surgery, received a letter of reprimand against his license and a $10,000 fine from the Florida Department of Health. He was also hit with a bill to pay back the cost of the department’s investigation and prosecution costs of $9,588.67. Also included with the penalty is a commitment to do a one-hour lecture/seminar on the safety and possible complications of BBL surgeries at a medical facility.
According to testimony given to the Department of Health, Dr. Paul Goldberg stated that Walker “was not a candidate for office surgery, but maybe she would be a candidate for surgery in a hospital.” This was decided
after she went to the facility on Apr. 18, 2022, for an evaluation for breast reduction surgery. She allegedly had a history of high blood pressure, was labeled pre-diabetic, and her body mass was measured at an index of 38.1.Despite that being in her chart, Simmons approved her for the surgery the day after the examination.
Authorities state he “injected fat into the gluteal muscle, which caused the fatal pulmonary embolism.”
Miami-Dade Chief Medical Examiner Kenneth Hutchins, who performed the autopsy, said he found “many vessels filled with fat emboli” in her lungs and “there is vegetable matter in the small airways.”
According to the Miami Herald, the autopsy determined that Dr. Simmons violated Florida law by injecting fat into Walker’s gluteal muscles during the surgery.