Florida doctor’s license revoked after Brazilian butt lift procedure ended patient's life

The state’s medical board has revoked the license of a Florida physician who perforated a patient’s abdominal organs at least five times during a Brazilian butt lift procedure that led to her death.

The Florida Board of Medicine sanctioned Dr. Christopher Walker for falling below the standard of care, performing liposuction without being qualified as well as two additional charges related to his plastic surgery businesses, Beja Body Med Spa, as well as his other practice area as a medical expert in class actions conducted through Urogyn Specialists of Florida.

In doing so, the board adhered to a June 4 recommendation from state Administrative Judge Andre D. Manko. Walker appeared before the board on Dec. 5 and asked that it allow him to keep his license with restrictions.

“Board members, I come before you today completely broken. For 28 years I’ve been privileged to be a physician, and I’ve dedicated my life to the practice of medicine with a fervent design to help others and make a positive impact in the life of my patients,” he said.

Brazilian butt lifts are plastic surgeries that involve a minimum of two procedures — liposuction and fat injection into the gluteal area.

The record shows that Walker performed a two-hour liposuction on a patient, identified in the record as “U.O.”, in 2021. Walker perforated U.O’s abdominal muscles at least five times, causing damage to the patient’s liver, stomach, small intestine, pancreas, veins, and arteries, including the artery supplying blood to the colon.

Walker “did not not realize he had perforated the patient’s abdominal muscles or caused injuries to her internal organs” until a nurse anesthetist told him she could not find the patient’s pulse. Walker tried to resuscitate the patient, who was transferred to a hospital.

“Sadly, emergency efforts to stabilize the patient were unsuccessful. She had lost too much blood to clot and her internal bleeding could not be stopped. Patient U.O.’s death certificate identifies her cause of death as hemorrhagic shock due to penetrating abdominal injuries,” the record shows.

Not board-certified

Walker was not a board-certified plastic surgeon, but that is not a requirement to perform plastic surgery in Florida. He had performed upward of 500 liposuctions throughout his career, he told the board. The record also shows that Walker had taken a number of training courses over the years but hadn’t attended seminars on liposuction over an eight-year period between 2009 and 2017.

In 2017, he attended a two-day course in Massachusetts on tummy tucks that involved observational training on liposuction. He didn’t participate in procedures because he wasn’t licensed in that state.

“Although one bad incident does not necessarily indicate a lack of competency, Respondent’s actions during Patient U.O.’s procedure, his failure to recognize the damage being caused, and his explanations therefore at the hearing showed a lack of competency, ” Manko wrote in his recommended order.

Walker told the board that the incident occurred while he was in the midst of a criminal prosecution, the result of him “unwittingly” violating a federal law regarding interstate commerce of medical patients and kickbacks. That violation stemmed from Walker’s work as a medical expert witness.

“During this turmoil when I was being criminally charged my freedom and my livelihood were threatened. I tragically lost a patient. This indescribable tragedy has left me with profound grief. In my 25 years of being a surgeon, operating on over 15,000 patients and saving many lives, that was my first loss. Looking back now, I see where, in my distress, my judgment was flawed in my effort to survive under the weight of a criminal indictment. And I accept full responsibility for my mistake and the grave error I made.”

Board of Medicine member Dr. Scot Ackerman said Walker’s testimony conflicted with the record of his medical training and that the board should deny his request.

“Petitioner just told us his first love or first passion was surgery and to be a surgeon. He never did training in surgery,” Ackerman, who practices in Jacksonville, said. “Petitioner told the board he was a medical resident in Jamaica, he did a gynecology residency in Jamaica, he did OBGYN in the United States, he did OBGYN and family practice. So, it’s nice hearing you say that, but I think what he’s saying is inconsistent with his history and his training.”

BBL crackdown

In addition to the standard-of-care charges, Walker was charged with failing to ensure his clinic complied with Florida’s requirements for plastic surgery centers that perform Brazilian butt lifts. Walker failed to timely register with the state the names of two physicians who worked at the clinic

Those requirements were imposed by the Legislature following news reports exposing a spate of deaths at plastic surgery centers in Florida involving Brazilian butt lifts.

As the deaths continued, more changes were made to further protect patients and in 2024 the Legislature began requiring clinics to carry liability insurance — a vast change in Florida, which had allowed physicians to practice medicine without having medical malpractice coverage.

Walker was also charged with fraudulently renewing his medical license by not disclosing his guilty plea to the federal kickback violations.

Those violations stem from a portion of Walker’s practice dedicated to surgically removing transvaginal mesh, which is used to manage urinary incontinence for women. The mesh has been the subject of thousands of lawsuits against multiple product manufacturers. Walker served as an expert in product-liability litigation arising from the mesh’s use. The record shows that Walker performed surgeries on patients from Florida and around the nation. The referrals were made by other physicians, law firms, and online blog sites.

For patients outside of Orlando, Walker used a company called Surgical Assistance to arrange transportation, provide lodging, and cover the costs of laboratory work, pathology, and nursing care. Walker paid Surgical Assistance $3,000 per patient for those services. He also accepted referrals from Surgical Assistance, although they represented just 10% of his referrals.

He was indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York for allegedly violating several provisions of federal law, including the Travel Act, for his arrangement with Surgical Assistance. The law bans bribes or kickbacks in the interstate commerce involving referral patients.

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