CHULA VISTA, Calif. — A Chula Vista plastic surgeon that is now awaiting trial for manslaughter in the death of a 36-year-old patient, Megan Espinoza, during a routine breast augmentation surgery is still practicing.
Dr. Carlos Chacon and a lead nurse at the Divino Plastic Surgery in Bonita were charged with manslaughter in the death of Megan Espinoza during what was considered a routine breast augmentation surgery in December of 2018.
Meanwhile, legal documents obtained by CBS 8, show his attorneys are near finalizing a $1 million settlement deal with the family in a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Megan Espinoza - Divino Plastic Surgery
Megan Espinoza, a 36-year-old mother of two, went into 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.
The subsequent investigation revealed that nurses injected Espinoza with a cocktail of pain drugs during the procedure. Meanwhile, according to records, "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 increase. She soon went into sudden cardiac arrest.
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.
Manslaughter Charges
The District Attorney filed manslaughter charges against Chacon and nurse Heather Lang, last year after the California Medical Board released its preliminary findings.
Yet, despite the manslaughter charges and the near-completed settlement in the civil case, Chacon has remained in practice with only minor restrictions placed on him by the medical board.
Those restrictions include prohibiting Chacon from performing any surgery without a licensed anesthesiologist, forbidding him from allowing anyone other than a licensed anesthesiologist from administering IV medications or anesthesia, and not traveling out of state.
Statement from the Medical Board
CBS 8 reached out to the Medical Board for comment.
A spokesperson for the board told CBS 8 that the board pulled Divino Plastic Surgery's accreditation on August 22.
In regard to pulling Chacon's medical license a spokesperson told CBS 8, "When a physician is charged with a criminal offense, the Board must conduct its own investigation into the matter and determine if the crime that the physician was found guilty of is substantially related to the qualifications, functions or duties of a physician, which would constitute unprofessional conduct and can be cause for disciplinary action...Therefore, the Board is unable to provide further comment on this pending matter."
In regard to the criminal case and whether or not Chacon's license will be revoked, the spokesperson added, "It is the court’s responsibility to determine if the evidence supports the suspension or practice restriction."
CBS 8 also asked what if anything the medical board does to notify the public about enforcement and complaints against doctors. The spokesperson told CBS 8, "To inform the public of the license status, suspension order, and pending charges against the license of Dr. Chacon, the Board did the following:
- Posted the documents on the Board’s website
- Sent a subscriber alert to the administrative actions listserv
- Sent an alert through its app for Apple IOS devices informing the people who follow Dr. Chacon’s license of the suspension order and pending accusation against his license
- Posted the information on its social media page (Facebook and Twitter)
- Posted the information in its newsletter
- Provided the information to various media outlets who used the information for their news stories.
Chacon's attorneys did not respond to CBS 8's request for comment.