Dr. Ben Brown's patients, former staff say partial license restriction is 'not enough'

Since Hillary Brown’s death last November every day has been a struggle for her parents, Marty and Dixie Ellington. Marty continues to run his electrical contracting services business in Houston, Texas, but life is nowhere near the same.

At home, the couple struggle to cope with the 33-year-old woman’s untimely death and grieve for her. They keep pictures and mementos of their daughter close.

Hillary Ellington Brown was taken off life support Nov. 28, 2023, about a week after going into cardiac arrest while her husband, Dr. Ben Brown, was performing several procedures on her at Restore Plastic Surgery, his medical office in the Tiger Point area.

“I've got pictures everywhere, and I've got where I took plaster of paris and made (a cast of) her hand before they took her back,” said Marty Ellington. “We got a sculpture of her hand, and then we got her and Dixie's hand where they were holding hands and I'm looking at that every night and trying to be strong.”

On May 2, the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) issued an emergency order immediately restricting Brown’s ability to practice medicine, saying he can only practice in a state-licensed hospital under the supervision of a licensed physician.

Brown did not respond to a request for a comment on the state’s decision.

The state said emergency order was based on several factors including its investigation into Hillary Brown’s death. The state said Hillary Brown, who is not a licensed medical professional, was allowed to prepare and take her own anesthesia solution prior to the procedures Brown performed on her and that she showed signs of lidocaine toxicity during the surgery prior to becoming unresponsive.

The state said Brown waited at least 10 to 20 minutes, looking for life-saving and other medical equipment, before staff called 911.

In the order, the department of health also said two of Brown’s patients suffered from shoddy work, infections and improper wound care, as well as procedures the patient hadn't authorized such as a Brazilian butt lift.

Hillary’s family and some of Brown’s patients are grateful the state took action, but they want to see more done.

Former patient Jane Hawkins shared her experiences with the News Journal and the health department, saying her injuries were so severe at one point the open wound on her stomach was seven inches by four inches wide and she went to the hospital for emergency care.

“I’m grateful for the DOH attention to this horrific medical experience,” Hawkins said. “I hope they continue to investigate as so many patients have been done an injustice at the hands of Ben Brown. It’s time for legal and policy reform in plastics and aesthetic procedures.”

Hawkins and the other patients referenced in the order had multiple revision procedures performed in Brown’s office by him and his staff, including his wife. The patients said some of the procedures were painful and done without proper safety precautions leading the health department to determine it isn’t “safe to allow (Brown) to open and operate the office without the knowledge of any mandated supervisor.”

According to FDOH, any office that performs Level II or Levell III procedures, which are surgeries where the patient is placed in a state to tolerate unpleasant procedures and surgeries that involve the use of a general or major anesthesia and pre-operative sedation, must be registered with the department of health, and submit to annual inspections.

The state said Restore Plastic Surgery is “not registered or inspected by the department” because it is a Level I facility, which according to the Florida Board of Medicine is where “pre-operative medications are not required or used other than minimal pre-operative tranquilization; anesthesia is local, topical, or none; where no drug-induced alteration of consciousness other than minimal pre-operative tranquilization” occurs.

“I don't think (the state’s order) is enough,” Marty Ellington said. “You've got so many botched surgeries, and one that is a death of his own wife. It's no secret that he disregarded safety protocols. He takes no ownership and had he taken ownership, my daughter would be here.”

Related: Gulf Breeze plastic surgeon Ben Brown deemed danger to public by Florida surgeon general

Hillary Brown’s death is still under investigation by the Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office and the Ellingtons hope Brown will be charged criminally.

Surgical tech and former Brown employee Debra Guy reported the Browns to the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration and North Florida Surgeons, a specialty surgical group affiliated with Brown, for what she documented and described as his blatant refusal to follow basic safety protocols in maintaining a sterile environment.

Guy said Ben Brown instructed to her clean surgical tools in a bucket of distilled water or the staff kitchen sink and said he and his staff regularly performed procedures in the office that should have been performed in a state licensed and inspected facility.

“I think he just ran by the seat of his pants and did exactly what he wanted to do because he was hiding underneath the state,” Guy said. “There was no one doing inspections on him. He could have walked into his garage and done the same thing. The sterility would have been the same. I think he should have lost his license altogether.”

Hawkins also wants to see Brown his license for good. Allowing him to work as a doctor even in a limited capacity under a physician’s supervision she said is not enough and believes he is still a danger to patients.

“Whether a chosen or required procedure, patients deserve ethical, quality care with appropriately trained and certified staff along with regular and timely state inspections of all people and facilities,” said Hawkins. “Operating with shortcuts, ‘artistic freedom,’ and reckless post-operative care must be penalized.”

The Ellingtons agree. Marty said he also wants to see the creation of “Hillary’s law,” which would prevent doctors from performing procedures on their own family members.

“If somebody had looked into all these numerous complaints, he wouldn't have had a license and he wouldn't have been in that situation,” said Ellington. “It never would have happened if he'd been stopped sooner.”

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Dr. Ben Brown's Gulf Breeze license restricted Hillary Brown death