Hillary Brown, the wife of plastic surgeon Ben Brown, M.D., died from surgery complications at his practice in Gulf Breeze, Florida, and the Santa Rosa County Sheriffs Office is investigating her death.
Brown, 33, seized and went into cardiac arrest while undergoing multiple cosmetic procedures by her husband Dr. Brown, 40, at his Restore Plastic Surgery practice on Nov. 21, USA Today reports.
Hillary was transported to the hospital and in a coma for one week before her family decided to take her off of life support. She had extensive brain damage due to lack of oxygen.
The 911 report says “Dr. [possibly] over medicated patient,” according to the Pensacola News Journal.
A representative for Dr. Brown tells The Messenger he “is completely devastated by the sudden loss of his loving wife Hillary" and any suggestion that he is at fault is a "mistruth."
"The procedures Ben performed on the day of Hillary’s passing were minor and routine. All safety and medical protocols were strictly followed, and the procedures took place during office hours with the support of Ben’s medical staff. Ben is a dedicated and incredibly talented surgeon, with no previous disciplinary actions or marks," his representative said in a statement.
Hillary’s parents, Marty and Dixie Ellington of Texas, told USA Today that Dr. Brown said he was out of his typical anesthetic and so used a different type of medication.
“We want answers,” Marty Ellington said. “We haven’t been given answers. If it’s a mistake, it was a mistake, but it doesn’t bring my daughter back, you know. I don’t want his money. I don’t want anything. All I want is an answer because I think that we owe that to my daughter.”
Hillary, who also worked at the plastic surgery clinic, had three young children from a previous marriage, and had been married to Dr. Brown for about two years.
Their marriage was sometimes “volatile,” her father told the Journal.
On her Instagram account, Hillary wrote on April 7, “I have been guilty of loving someone so much, I started fixing them and failed to notice they were breaking me,” with the caption “Every. Day.” She does not refer to a specific relationship in the post.
The Major Crimes Unit of the Sheriff’s Office and the District One Medical Examiner's office are conducting an investigation as part of their typical procedure following an unexpected death, WEAR news reports.
The official cause of death is yet to be determined, and the Sheriff’s Department told WEAR news “it typically takes several months as it usually is dependent on extensive laboratory and toxicology tests as well as the information gathered by our Major Crimes detectives concerning the circumstances of the death.”