PORT ST. LUCIE − Four people associated with Cosmetica Plastic Surgery and Anti-Aging were arrested after police and state officials reported uncovering a host of issues at the facility, including surgical procedures performed by a physician assistant as opposed to a licensed surgeon, according to records and Port St. Lucie Police.
The arrests came after a number of patients at the business in the 1900 block of Southeast Port St. Lucie Boulevard just west of U.S. 1 reported going to other doctors after experiencing severe health-related issues after procedures there.
Adley DaSilva, 51, of Stuart, who was identified in records as the facility owner, was arrested June 14 on single counts each related to racketeering, grand theft and organized fraud; and four counts each of practicing medicine without an active license and aggravated battery causing great harm, according to Sgt. Dominick Mesiti, Port St. Lucie Police spokesperson.
DaSilva, a physician assistant, was accused of performing a number of surgeries despite lacking the qualifications to do so.
DaSilva's wife, Kiomy Quintiana, 41, was arrested June 13 on single counts each related to racketeering, grand theft and organized fraud; and three counts of practicing medicine without a license, Mesiti said.
Arrested on racketeering charges June 13 were Fermal Lee Simpson, 74, and Dianne Linda Millan, 52, both of Port St. Lucie, records show. Simpson in a deposition told officials he provided anesthesia at the business “during procedures in which no physician was present,” records state.Millan appeared to be a surgical staff member or technician.
Mesiti said a fifth person is wanted in the case on a racketeering charge.
Patients reported getting procedures including “liposuction 360,” “Brazilian butt lift with fat transfer,” “tummy tuck,” and “breast augmentation.”
According to court records, the state Department of Health on May 30, 2023, issued a final order revoking the business’s registration to operate. That came after an emergency suspension order in June 2022.
Court records show the state Department of Health reported Cosmetica Plastic Surgery and Anti-Aging “violated various statutes and rules resulting in the office surgery registration for the enterprise to be immediately suspended.”
The state Department of Health began investigating following a March 2022 anonymous complaint, while Port St. Lucie Police started investigating later.
Police in August 2022 spoke to a doctor who said he’d been a board-certified plastic surgeon in Florida since 1990 and had his own practice.
That doctor said he was the supervising physician for the first few years, but in late 2021 to early 2022 he noticed some changes. DaSilva was supposed to refer surgical procedures to the doctor, but the number of referrals dropped.
Records show the doctor found evidence suggesting procedures were being done improperly.
"Adley, (w)e have seen many patients in Instagram with surgeries you should NOT be doing,” the doctor is quoted as writing in an email to DaSilva. “These are not approved by me. I have to feel comfortable with you doing these surgeries. I also know that you are working with an un-licensed doctor. These surgeries are risking my license.”
The doctor notified the state Department of Health, records show.
Police reported that in an October 2022 deposition in the state Department of Health Case, DaSilva said about 90 percent of the surgeries he performed happened when the doctor wasn't there, describing it as "indirect supervision," records show.
Police noted the state Department of Health reported inconsistencies and errors in records were “indicative of either gross negligence or intentional concealment.”
An attorney who reported representing DaSilva and Quintiana told police he advised them not to speak with investigators, records show.
A doctor who treated one of the patients who had issues after going to see Cosmetica Plastic Surgery and Anti-Aging reported he'd "never seen anything quite like the severity of her injuries. (Redacted) presented with a large abdominal wound, fat necrosis, mal-positioned umbilical hernia and asymmetry of the breasts. She had suicidal ideations."
Another doctor who saw a patient from Cosmetica reported “the first time he saw her, he almost passed out due to the severity of her condition due to the liposuction,” records state.
That doctor remarked “by saying ‘the most dangerous individual in the world is an unethical one.’ Referring to patients, he said ‘they trust you with their lives and you can talk them into any procedure because they trust you.’ He felt this was the situation with (redacted) and the enterprise,” records show.
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Will Greenleeis a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X@OffTheBeatTweetor reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him atwill.greenlee@tcpalm.com.
