Doctor banned from performing liposuction
Walker, facing federal charges, was restricted by Florida surgeon general after patient’s death
An Orlando doctor facing federal charges in an alleged scheme involving pelvic mesh lawsuits had his medical license restricted this month after he punctured a woman’s organs and arteries during a January liposuction, resulting in her death.
Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees ordered an emergency restriction March 16 on the license of Dr. Christopher Walker, a urogynecologist who owns Beja Body Med Spa in downtown Orlando, that bans him from performing liposuctions and allows the state Department of Health to begin discipline proceedings against him.
“Dr. Walker is not capable of performing liposuction procedures in a manner that is correct and safe,” the order said. “... The amount and severity of [the patient’s] injuries indicate that this was not the result of a single mistake or accident and can only be explained as either recklessness or incompetence.”
Walker did not immediately respond to a request for
comment. Attorney Fritz Scheller, who is representing the doctor in the federal criminal case against him, called the patient’s death an “unusual, isolated incident” that’s not consistent with the pattern of care that Walker provides to his patients.
“He’s an outstanding doctor,” Scheller said. “He’s very dedicated to the female patients he serves.”
On Jan. 15, a 38-year-old woman known as “Patient U.O.” went to Beja Body Med Spa for a liposuction of her abdomen and back, as well as a fat transfer to her buttocks, which is marketed as a “Brazilian Butt Lift,” according to the order.
To perform a liposuction, a surgeon has to cut and insert a long, thin metal rod, which is hollow and attached to a vacuum, underneath a patient’s skin. The physician moves the rod back and forth in a rapid motion to loosen the fat, which is then suctioned through the rod.
The metal instrument isn’t supposed to penetrate the underlying muscle, but when Walker inserted the rod into the abdomen of Patient U.O., he handled it with “such substandard care” that he crossed through her abdominal muscles and punctured multiple organs and arteries, the order said.
“Dr. Walker’s reckless technique caused Patient U.O. to experience significant internal bleeding during the procedure,” Rivkees wrote.
The woman’s oxygen levels and pulse significantly decreased and she went into cardiac arrest. Walker and his surgical team began CPR on her and administered adrenaline to help restore her cardiac rhythm, but the woman was ultimately taken to AdventHealth Orlando hospital.
During surgery at AdventHealth, doctors found Patient U.O. had multiple organ injuries, arterial bleeding, cuts to her liver and pancreas, and injuries to her stomach and colon, according to the order.
As AdventHealth’s surgical team tried to save her, the woman’s blood pressure dropped and she went into cardiac arrest again. She died after the team was unable to resuscitate her.
“Based on the available clinical history and autopsy findings, it appears that the patient died from complications of uncontrollable hemorrhage, following an outpatient liposuction procedure,” said an examining pathologist of the woman’s death.
A review of the case by Dr. Harvey W. M. Chim, a board-certified plastic surgeon with expertise in liposuction, found that Walker “fell below the prevailing professional standard of care” by causing the injuries that led to the patient’s death.
Chim also found that performing liposuctions is beyond the scope of Walker’s specialty in urogynecology, which focuses on female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery.
Walker advertises that he completed training in cosmetic surgery, but he is not board certified in cosmetic surgery and a resume he provided to the health department listed no education or training in the subject, the order said.
“Dr. Walker does not have the proper training and experience to perform liposuction procedures,” Rivkees’ order said. “Dr. Walker is performing liposuction procedures which he is not competent to perform, and/or he is performing liposuction procedures with such recklessness that a patient has died as a result . ... Dr. Walker’s continued performance of liposuction procedures presents an immediate, serious danger to the health, welfare and safety of the public.”
Walker has 30 days to appeal. The health department would not say Monday whether it is currently investigating any other medical professionals involved in the fatal liposuction.
The patient’s death happened nine months after Walker was released from a New York detention center, where he was jailed after federal prosecutors charged him with witness tampering. The conditions of his release do not include restrictions on his medical practice, said John Marzulli, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
The doctor was first arrested in 2019 after he and a medical consultant were accused of helping entice women with pelvic mesh implants, which had been found to cause pain and bleeding, into removing them and then suing the device manufacturers.
Walker, who has pleaded not guilty, was also accused of paying kickbacks and bribes to consultants and others involved in the referral process. Scheller said Walker’s defense team has collected numerous testimonies from patients on his behalf.
“He is persisting in his claim of innocence, and we’re vigorously defending his case,” he said. “We’re in the midst of litigation now. I have the highest regard for Dr. Walker.”