Another administrative complaint has been filed with the Florida Department of Health against New Life Plastic Surgery and Dr. Julio Clavijo-Alvarez, this time accusing the doctor of causing a Brazilian butt lift patient’s post-surgery hospitalization while neglecting to report any post-op issues.
Administrative complaints initiate the process of prospective disciplinary action, and this is Complaint No. 3 against Clavijo-Alvarez, aka Dr. JC Alvarez.
According to a complaint filed in September, a state inspector visiting New Life at 8400 SW Eighth St. discovered prescriptions for oxycodone and diazepam with Clavijo-Alvarez’s signature but no patient’s name or date sitting in an insecure area. Clavijo-Alvarez is no longer listed as a staff member at Miami Lakes Cosmetic Surgery, also known as Jireh Cosmetic Center, located at 15450 New Barn Road.
However, when he was identified as the designated physician there, a state investigator discovered multiple infractions. When this occurs, complaints are filed against the office surgical facility as well as the person in charge of compliance, the designated physician.
The most recent complaint against Clavijo-Alvarez, who cites a Coral Gables office as his license address, concerns a 2021 Brazilian butt lift (BBL) procedure at New Life.
Drainage and Pain
The standard process for a BBL operation, a type of liposuction that removes fat from the abdomen and injects it into the buttocks, is for the patient to be transferred to a recovery center once the surgery is completed at an office surgery center, such as New Life.
In a conventional hospital, the patient never touches the bedding. According to the complaint, “Patient J.D.” ended up at two Jackson Hospital facilities after Clavijo-Alvarez cut her on October 28, 2021, at New Life.
According to the complaint, Clavijo-Alvarez employed a Jackson-Pratt drain, which the Cleveland Clinic defines as “a surgical suction drain that gently draws fluid from a wound to help you recover after surgery.”
The complaint alleged that Clavijo-Alvarez placed the drain under J.D.’s rectus abdominal muscles “and inside J.D.’s abdominal cavity.”
The complaint stated that installing a Jackson-Pratt drain there breaches the “prevailing professional standard of care.”
According to the lawsuit, J.D. went to Doral’s Jackson West Medical Center, 2801 NW 79th Ave., on Oct. 29, 2021, “with worsening back pain and abdominal pain.” Jackson West transferred her to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami later that day.
Three days later, JMH physicians removed the drain.
According to the complaint, Clavijo-Alvarez “documented a meeting with J.D. at New Life” on Nov. 3, 2021, but “reported that J.D. had not experienced any pain since the BBL procedure on Oct. 28, 2021” and did not preserve any records of J.D.’s trips to Jackson West or JMH.
For more updates visit our website.