Plastic Surgeon Charged Over Death of Wife Who Suffered a Cardiac Arrest During Cosmetic Procedures

Dr. Benjamin Brown was charged with manslaughter on Monday, June 17

A Florida plastic surgeon has been arrested and charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of his wife.

Dr. Benjamin Brown, 41, was charged on Monday, June 17, following a months-long investigation into the death of his wife Hilary Ellington Brown, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office said in a statement on Facebook.

Hilary died on Nov. 28, 2023, days after she suffered a cardiac arrest at Restore Plastic Surgery in Gulf Breeze and was placed on life support.

“After an extensive investigation in conjunction with the District One Medical Examiner’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office, our detectives requested a warrant for the arrest of Dr. Benjamin Brown,” the sheriff's office said in the statement.

“Today, 6/17/2024, Benjamin Jacob Brown, 41 years of age has been arrested for Second Degree Felony Homicide: manslaughter by Culpable Negligence. He is currently being held in the SRSO Jail pending first appearance where a bond will be determined by a judge and State Attorney’s Office.”

According to an order of emergency restriction for the plastic surgeon's medical license, which was filed by the Florida Department of Health in May, Hilary died on life support seven days after suffering a cardiac arrest while being operated on by Dr. Brown on Nov. 21, 2023. He had performed several cosmetic procedures on his wife, including scar revision, arm liposuction and lip and face injections.

The medical board said Hilary had consumed a “handful” of pills, which included Valium, and “prepared her own” IV bags ahead of going into surgery.

Hilary “became restless and her feet began twitching” when Dr. Brown started the scar revision and muscle plication procedures, which later got worse, per the document. She then mentioned her vision blurring and eventually “became unresponsive and began to have a seizure.”

During the surgeries, Dr. Brown did not record the anesthetic medication given to his wife, according to the document. He asked an assistant to call for emergency care “approximately 10 or 20 minutes” after his wife’s seizure.

“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,” the order of emergency restriction document stated.

Hillary was taken to the Ascension Sacred Heart Emergency Care Department in Pensacola, Fla., where she later died. Her cause of death was determined to be from “complications following lidocaine toxicity,” per the document.

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Dr. Brown graduated from Georgetown University’s Department of Plastic Surgery in 2015, the Florida Department of Health states on its website. Days before his wife's death, he asked for prayers on social media, according to local media outlet the Pensacola News Journal.

The plastic surgeon received $50,000 bond in court on Monday, June 17, per the outlet.

He faces life in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted of his crimes.

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