A Florida plastic surgeon has been charged in the death of his wife, who went into cardiac arrest while he was performing a number of cosmetic procedures on her and allegedly refused to call 911 for nearly 20 minutes as she died on the operating table.
Benjamin Jacob Brown, 41, turned himself in to authorities Monday after a warrant signed by a judge Friday charged him with second-degree felony homicide: manslaughter by culpable negligence for the death of his wife, Hillary Ellington Brown, 33, last November, according to the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office.
First responders were called to the Restore Plastic Surgery in Gulf Breeze, Fla., for a medical emergency on Nov. 21, 2023, and found Hillary suffering from cardiac arrest, authorities said.
The mom of three was then rushed to a local hospital for medical treatment but was later put on life support for a week before her death.
Law enforcement then began an “extensive investigation in conjunction with the District One Medical Examiner’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office,” which allowed detectives to request a warrant for Benjamin’s arrest.
An order of emergency restriction for the plastic surgeon’s medical license filed by the Florida Department of Health in May has shed further light on the circumstances around his wife’s death.
The document revealed his wife was scheduled to undergo “miniature muscle plication/abdominal scar revision, bilateral arm liposuction, lip injections, and ear adjustment procedures” on the day she went into cardiac arrest.
On the morning of the surgery, Hillary — who has no formal medical training — “prepared her own” IV bags and “ingested a ‘handful’ of multi-colored pills, which included valium,” before the procedure, the medical board found.
When she went into the operating room, he administered additional aesthesia without being able to verify what his wife took, according to the report.
He also failed to record what anesthetic medication and dosage he administered during the procedure.
Benjamin then allowed his wife to suture her own skin after the initial scar revision surgery.
As her husband began the second procedure of liposuction on her arm, she became “restless and her feet began twitching.”
“(Hillary Brown) stated that her vision started to blur, and she told Dr. Brown that she saw ‘orange,’” the report claims.
However, after a short break, he moved on to her lip injections despite his wife showing signs of “lidocaine toxicity.”
“Dr. Brown continued injecting lidocaine/Xylocaine” when Hillary Brown became “unresponsive” and “began to have a seizure” on the operating table.
“Over the next 10-20 minutes, a medical assistant asked Dr. Brown if they should call 911 and Dr. Brown said ‘no,’ or ‘wait.’ The medical assistant was scared and a new employee, so she did as Dr. Brown instructed.”
Instead of calling for immediate emergency care for his wife, the plastic surgeon “shouted” at his staff, demanding to know “what medication” she took.
“Approximately 10 to 20 minutes,” after his wife suffered the seizure, Benjamin finally asked an assistant to call 911.
She was taken to the Ascension Sacred Heart Emergency Care Department in Pensacola, where she spent a week in a coma before she died.
Hillary Brown’s cause of death was later determined to be “complications following lidocaine toxicity,” according to the documents.
The board called the plastic surgeon “careless and haphazard” and found that his “blatant authorization of unlicensed activity” indicated he “has poor judgment and cannot be trusted to ensure that his patients receive appropriate care.”
“The level of disregard Dr. Brown paid to patient safety, even when the patient was his wife, indicates that Dr. Brown is unwilling or incapable of providing the appropriate level of care to his future patients,” the board stated.
“Dr. Brown’s most problematic violation during (Hillary Brown’s) procedure was his failure to react swiftly in response to a serious medical emergency.”
Following the investigation, the Florida Department of Health issued an emergency order immediately restricting his ability to practice medicine.
Benjamin Brown graduated from Georgetown University’s Department of Plastic Surgery in 2015, according to the health department’s website.
He holds medical licenses in Florida, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, DC, and is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
Just days into his wife being in a coma, Benjamin Brown posted on social media asking for prayers for his wife, according to the Pensacola News Journal.
“We need prayers for a miracle. Hillary had a cardiac arrest on Tuesday afternoon. We called 911 and started CPR. Her heart came back but her brain is not doing well,” he posted on Nov. 24, 2023, according to the outlet.
“She has been in a coma since she went unconscious on Tuesday. Hillary Ellington Brown you are my soulmate, my world, my everything. Please come back. Please!”
Following his arrest on Monday, Hillary Brown’s father, Marty Ellington, spoke to the Pensacola News Journal about how the doctor’s “ego and arrogance” led to his daughter’s death.
“My family lives in a sea of tears for eternity due to the actions of one careless individual,” the heartbroken father told the outlet.
“His ego and arrogance overshadowed the need for help, prolonging oxygen deprivation to her brain and ultimately causing her death.”
“Ben Brown took the mother from my grandchildren, my only daughter and our brightest star. Hillary gave the ultimate sacrifice so Ben Brown cannot hurt anyone else. Maybe in prison, he will get the attention he deserves.”
He is currently being held in the SRSO Jail and was given a bond of $50,000 during his first court appearance Monday afternoon, according to the outlet.
He could face up to life in prison, life on probation, and a $10,000 fine if convicted of second-degree homicide.
