ATLANTA — A local dermatologist who offers in-office cosmetic surgery is under fire after a Channel 2 Action News, Atlanta Journal-Constitution consumer investigation.
At least seven malpractice lawsuits against the doctor include claims she used unqualified staff during procedures that left former patients disfigured. Two additional lawsuit settlements are listed on the state licensing website.
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Attorney Susan Witt told consumer investigator Jim Strickland that, for more than two years, Georgia's Composite Medical Board has had evidence that Dr. Windell Davis-Boutte's medical practices were unsafe.
“I think there is a small U-Haul’s worth of information that has been provided to the Composite Medical Board,” attorney Susan Witt said. Strickland asked her what action she’s seen from the board. “Absolutely nothing," she said.
Boutte’s more than 20 YouTube marketing videos are also the subject of at least one lawsuit. Some feature the board-certified dermatologist dancing around exposed, unmoving patients while performing customized renditions of popular songs, such as “Bad and Boujee," "Building up Fat in the Booty" and “Gut Don’t Live Here Anymore.”
“For a surgeon to be singing while she is cutting into a patient is very unprofessional and dangerous,” said Dr. Marisa Lawrence.
Lawrence is a board-certified plastic surgeon and the former chief of plastic surgery at Northside Hospital. “It’s an operating theater, not an acting theater. It really is inappropriate to behave in such a manor.”
Witt represents 26-year-old Ojay Liburd, whose mother, Icilma Cornelius, was left with brain damage after undergoing an eight-hour liposuction and an additional abdominal procedure in Boutte’s Lilburn office. Cornelius was weeks away from her wedding and credits away from earning her Ph.D. Her injuries were so severe, the wedding was called off, and she will need care for the rest of her life.
Channel 2 Investigates: