State restricts ‘butt lift’ plastic surgeon’s license

Florida’s surgeon general directly blamed a West Miami-Dade plastic surgery clinic doctor for the September death of a patient after Brazilian butt-lift surgery.

In the emergency restriction order last Friday that came down on Xiluet Plastic Surgery’s Dr. Stephanie Stover, state Surgeon General Scott Rivkees wrote: “As a result of Dr. Stover’s failure to operate in a manner that is correct and safe, Patient G.R. died.”

“Patient G.R.” is 46-yearold Gia Romualdo-Rodriguez from College Point, New York. The emergency order said Romualdo-Rodriguez came to Stover on

Sept. 15 for breast augmentation, abdominoplasty, liposuction and gluteal fat transfer/fat grafting (Brazilian butt-lift).

Brazilian butt-lift surgery, a popular procedure in

South Florida, have enough of a body count that the Aesthetic Surgery Education and Research Foundation formed a task force in 2017 to examine the risks involved.

After the task force’s report, which recommended doctors refrain from injecting fat into the deep muscle, the Florida Board of Medicine issued an emergency order in 2019 that stated “Intramuscular or submuscular fat injections are prohibited.”

Stover has been certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery since 2006 and licensed in Florida as a doctor since April 12, 2001. No previous discipline actions are listed on her Florida Department of Health license page.

Stover is prohibited from “performing any procedure involving fat transfer or fat grafting.” She’s allowed to perform other surgeries No criminal charges or civil suits have been filed.

Neither Xiluet nor Stover responded to a phone message or an email message for comment.