Tonight:
5°c
Cosmetic surgeon 'left patient with dog-eared neck'
Emma Rowley4 Aug 2009
A Harley Street cosmetic surgeon left a woman with "dog-eared" skin after he botched a facelift to cure her double chin, a misconduct hearing was told.
Armando Cason allegedly made an "excessive" cut and removed too much fat from Shirley Hills's neck during the operation at his private clinic. But when Mrs Hills complained about her lumpy, pleated skin he told her to "massage" it away, it is claimed.
Mr Cason, who is said to have featured in Tatler Magazine's 1997 guide to the best cosmetic surgeons in the world, later emigrated to America.
Mrs Hills first went to see Mr Cason at his office at 10 Harley Street to cure her double chin on 26 January, 2006.
After a 10-minute consultation, the surgeon recommended a face and neck lift, it is claimed. Cason failed to give her full information about the surgery and its possible complications, the General Medical Council heard.
Mrs Hills did not see Mr Cason again until the morning of the £5,600 operation on 8 March at the Pountney Clinic at Highgate Hospital.
The surgery involved cutting away fat and skin in the neck and chin and a tightening of the muscles under the chin. But Mr Cason unnecessarily removed too much fat and skin, it is claimed. The surgeon retired from the clinic in September 2007 and emigrated to Marblehead, Massachusetts, last year with his family.
He is not attending his misconduct hearing and is not represented.
In relation to the operation it is alleged Mr Cason's actions were inappropriate, not in the best interests of the patient and below the standard expected of a plastic and cosmetic surgeon.
Mrs Hills said she was "horrified" with her surgery. But Mr Cason allegedly dismissed her concerns, pulling out pre-op photographs and said: "Well, you look better than you did before."
After seeing another doctor a few months later, Mrs Hills wrote to the Pountney Clinic asking for a refund. She was given £2,500 but the clinic claimed "surgery was in fact carried out with due care and attention".
Mrs Hills then took her complaint to the GMC. Mr Cason faces eight charges including three that his answers to a GMC form to have his name removed from the medical register were misleading and dishonest.
If he is found guilty of misconduct he faces being kicked out of the profession in Britain.
Mr Cason was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1977 and later a Fellow of the European Academy of Cosmetic Surgery and a Member of the British Association of Cosmetic Surgeons. The hearing continues.
Reader views (9)
As a plastic surgery trained nurse I think I know a little about the effects of such surgeries (no, I'm not claiming to be a doctor, but I've seen , and understand more than most 'lay' people). Dog ears, a bunching up of tissue, happen when an area of tissue is removed and the edges brought together when closed up - it's a fact of life. This is an understood thing that is explained to the patients before their procedures. That the lady is dissatisfied with her surgery could simply be down to HER desired outcome vs the possible practical outcome. So far what is being reviewed is her accusations. For the surgeon to be penalized he has to be found liable not for failing to meet HER expectations, but the expected level of competence.
She is entitled to be disappointed with the results, but that doesn't necessarily mean the surgeon was responsible for not being able to do the clinically impossible. The hearings are there as much to clear his name as they are to prove his guilt - it is the details and facts of the case that are important, not the understandable patients hoped for high, and unfortunately sometimes unreasonable, expectations.
- Rogan, Irving, 04/08/2009 19:34
Report abuse
Loking at her boat race she is only throwing good money after bad.
- David, London, 04/08/2009 15:40
Report abuse
@ Rsaviour, london england
Labour education was it?
- Frank, Home Counties, England., 04/08/2009 15:10
Report abuse
Adam.London. You took the words right out of my mouth.But i would like to add the money she would have saved from stopping smoking would have been better spent on gym membership.exercise and a improvement in diet and the fat round her chin would have melted away,and would have had health benefits all round.Unlike you Adam i do not feel sorry for her,i just think shes lazy and has more money than sense.
- Kev, London-UK, 04/08/2009 14:01
Report abuse
The price ofo vanity - me thinks! Bet she wishes she still had the double chin instead of ugly skin, which ys could be cured if she gave us smoking!
- Nina, London, 04/08/2009 13:49
Report abuse
Thats a wrough wrough deal.
- Mickinlondon, london., 04/08/2009 13:20
Report abuse
Mrs Hills can do what she likes - she paid for the surgery and should of got the right results, not a botch job. It doesnt make her stupid to want to look better RSaviour. And Adam, her skin may look better if she didnt smoke but last I heard, smoking doesnt cause a double chin.
- Natty, London, 04/08/2009 13:19
Report abuse
stupid woman what you getting your sking cut for???
- Rsaviour, london england, 04/08/2009 12:03
Report abuse
While I feel sorry that Mrs Hills surgery was not what she expected, her skin would be in better condition if she did not smoke. No surgeon can stop the degeneration of skin casued by the ingeston of toxic compounds.
- Adam, London, 04/08/2009 11:19
Report abuse
