CHULA VISTA, Calif. — A Chula Vista cosmetic surgeon who pleaded guilty to the death of one of his patients during a routine breast augmentation surgery was sentenced to three years in prison on Friday, September 20.
The District Attorney's Office charged Dr. Carlos Chacon with involuntary manslaughter in the death of 36-year-old South Bay mother Megan Espinoza.
Espinoza died in December 2018 following a botched breast augmentation surgery at Chacon's South Bay clinic, Divino Plastic Surgery.
The Death of Megan Espinoza
The mother of two, Espinoza went for surgery at Divino Plastic Surgery on December 19, 2018, at Chacon's Clinic on Otay Lakes Road.
Medical Board records obtained by CBS 8 show that Espinoza agreed to have the surgery under, "conscious sedation" with a licensed anesthesiologist present during the procedure.
Chacon, however, administered the anesthesia himself and did not have a licensed anesthesiologist present at the time of the surgery.
At the outset of the procedure, nurses injected Espinoza with a cocktail of pain drugs.
Medical Board records reveal that "video of the procedure showed numerous staff members taking selfies with their cameras" inside the operating room.
More than an hour and a half later, nurses noticed Espinoza's heart rate increased rapidly. Minutes later her heart stopped.
From 2:22 p.m. to 4:10 p.m. the medical board says Chacon started CPR and nurses administered nine doses of Narcan and other drugs.
While Espinoza remained unresponsive, the medical board says Chacon was busy calling other doctors for help.
"[Chacon] called two anesthesiologists he worked with for advice, rather than call 911," reads the board's investigation. Despite his colleague's advice to call 911, Chacon waited.
"Still, [Chacon] did not call 911, even as [Espinoza] started to make gurgling noises and exhibit seizure-like activity," states the investigation.
At 5:24 pm, three hours after he first performed CPR on Espinoza, Chacon finally called 911. Espinoza was transferred to the hospital where she lay on life-support for several weeks before she died.
Additional records show Chacon needed to refer to a 'cheat sheet while attempting to give the young mother CPR, according to new allegations from the California Medical Board.
Despite the use of the sheets to try to save Espinoza, board investigators found that Chacon and staff had failed to follow the instructions on the sheets.
Investigators also discovered at least four other examples where Chacon allowed non-medically certified staff to administer anesthesia as well as perform other medical procedures on patients.
The State Medical Board revoked Chacon's license.
In July of this year, Chacon pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to a minimum of three years in prison and his medical license will be suspended for life.
Heather Vass pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to two years in prison.
During the victim impact statement's Espinoza's husband gave tearful testimony.
"I was robbed, I was robbed to say goodbye to her, I was robbed of our future," said Moises Espinoza, Megan's husband.
Her father also spoke and pleaded for a longer sentence but under the plea deal the judge did not have that discretion. Espinoza's mother talked about her daughter's big heart for her kids, family and the elementary students she taught.
"That man and his nurse who are callously responsible for ending Megan's life have given her the death penalty and all of us who loved her a sentence of extreme pain," said Judith Gorcey, Megan's mother.
Before Chacon was sentenced he spoke to the court and then turned to her family and spoke to directly to Espinoza's father.
"You are a far better man than I ever could be to stand behind those rails. You should know at my core, if I could trade places with Megan I would," said Chacon.
Vass also gave a statement an apologized for her actions.
"Her death will haunt me for the rest of my days that I didn’t call for help," said Vass.
The judge said that she acknowledged Vass' remorse and cooperation but considered her prior DUI conviction in 2012 that caused great bodily injury. Vass' blood alcohol level was .19. That case has since been expunged.
Both defendants were taken into custody.