CHULA VISTA, Calif. — A South Bay plastic surgeon appeared in court Monday in connection to a patient’s 2018 death.
Dr. Carlos Chacon, 48, was originally charged with involuntary manslaughter after he allegedly performed a breast augmentation surgery on a woman who died during the procedure. He was is now being charged for murder following Monday’s arraignment.
His defense is arguing nothing has changed, following the amended criminal complaint by the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office
“The new evidence is that he walked into a different room and checked on patients. That’s new evidence? It’s a murder charge, not malpractice charges. It requires more than that,” said Chacon’s defense attorney Marc Carlos.
On December 2018, 36-year-old Megan Espinoza had a breast augmentation surgery.
Prosecutors say the mother of two went into cardiac arrest during the operation at Divino Plastic Surgery in Bonita. Chacon is accused of delaying emergency services for Espinoza for about three hours.
“Dr. Chacon has been practicing medicine for years and has thousands of patients. He will be able to practice under certain conditions, but it will impact his practice,” added Carlos.
The prosecutor is pushing for more limitations for Chacon’s practice, including written consent from both patient and medical staff for any general sedation surgeries and prohibiting surgeries with unlicensed staff.
Online advertisements for Chacon’s medical services are also a concern, according to the DA’s Office.
“When the foreseeable risk from using an untrained person to give anesthesia materialized, instead of doing the necessary thing to save the victim’s life and call 911, the defendant essentially doubled down on his practices and prevented others from calling 911,” said Deputy District Attorney Gina Darvas.
“She was an amazing woman. She was a kindergarten teacher,” said Moises Espinoza, the victim’s husband.
He told FOX 5 that preventing anyone else from going through this is what justice looks like for him and his family, five years after his wife’s death.
Bail was set at $500,000 for Chacon, who is expected back in court on June 5.
