In an investigative report published Sept. 30, KFF Health News outlined a growing national trend of lawsuits filed by patients against cosmetic surgery chains — a growing industry that is attracting patients by promising “minimally invasive” and aesthetically transformative procedures.
Concerning trends follow industry growth
The investigation found that patient lawsuits have followed the industry’s growth over the last several years. Some cases allege that surgeons lacked proper training, had histories of malpractice suits, or had faced disciplinary action by state medical licensing boards, but were still hired after relocating to a new state.
The investigation focuses primarily on the Atlanta branch of Goals Aesthetics & Plastic Surgery, which opened in 2021 as an expansion of New York City-based Goals Aesthetics & Plastic Surgery. The cosmetic surgery chain operates 12 locations across eight states.
During the pandemic, Atlanta Goals hired six out-of-state surgeons who received temporary Georgia medical licenses made possible by a COVID-era state policy to provide more medical personnel. The center was able to hire these physicians despite their specialization in cosmetic procedures such as Brazilian butt lifts and liposuction, paid for in cash or on credit.
Andrew Hsu, MD, was one of the six surgeons hired in Atlanta by Goals during this time period. Dr. Hsu was named as a defendant in seven out of 20 medical malpractice lawsuits filed by women against the facility, its owner or its surgeons. He was also named as a defendant in an eighth lawsuit in which a patient sued Dr. Hsu for negligence in an operation he performed at a Goals location in New York. Both Dr. Hsu and Goals declined to provide comment to KFF. Both have denied any negligence, according to the report.
Goals won dismissal of several of the lawsuits because patients had signed papers agreeing to outside arbitration, which requires them to resolve disputes privately outside the court system. However, it argued in a separate contract dispute that the problems with several of its Atlanta surgeons, including Dr. Hsu, stemmed from Barton Associates, a private-equity owned medical staffing firm based in Massachusetts. Goals alleged that Barton failed to run adequate background checks on the physicians it supplied. Barton denied the allegations, saying it met all terms of the contract according to KFF.
A nationwide pattern raises questions about transparency, regulations
KFF identified more than 200 lawsuits filed against multistate cosmetic surgery companies, mostly over the last seven years. Dozens of cases involved patient deaths. While lawsuits themselves do not prove wrongdoing, and many are settled under confidential terms, medical authorities and licensing boards regard malpractice cases and settlements as a factor in identifying patterns of substandard care that may be harmful to patients. According to the court records obtained by KFF, surgeons who were sued numerous times for malpractice have been hired by cosmetic surgery chains.
Goals, specifically, has contracted with eight surgeons who have three or more malpractice cases filed against them, including in the Atlanta area. The investigation detailed the experiences of several women who have sued goals for different reasons, including one woman who sued surgeon Peter Driscoll, MD, in New Jersey, alleging sexual harassment during a procedure in 2022. Dr. Driscoll, once board certified in otolaryngology, is no longer certified in the specialty, and his license in New Jersey was suspended in 2023, KFF reported. Dr. Driscoll was reportedly hired by Goals despite numerous malpractice allegations, license suspensions and disciplinary actions in Texas and California. Goals and its owner, Sergey Voskin, MD, have denied these allegations and filed a motion to dismiss or compel arbitration of the case. Dr. Driscoll, who has not filed a response in court, could not be reached for comment by KFF.
Another chain named in the investigation, Miami-based Mia Aesthetics, lists four physicians with three or more malpractice actions since 2020, according to court records. Mia Aesthetics operates 13 cosmetic surgery centers nationwide.
Belle Medical, another cosmetic surgery chain based in St. George, Utah, has been sued by nearly a dozen patients. The lawsuits criticize the credentials of physicians and nurse practitioners affiliated with Belle Medical. Belle Medical is backed by private equity firm Peterson Partners, and neither organization responded to KFF’s request for comment. Belle Medical has argued that its medical providers are independent contractors who are solely responsible for any procedures they perform in court filings.
The largest cosmetic surgery chain in the U.S., Kirkland, Wash.-based Sono Bello, operates more than 100 locations nationwide, and has been a defendant in more than a dozen lawsuits alleging the company contracted with inadequately trained physicians or practitioners previously disciplined by state licensing boards, KFF reported. For example, in 2023, Ohio’s medical board revoked the license of a Sono Bello contract surgeon after three of her patients died, two of them following procedures at a Sono Bello office in the Cleveland area.
Roberto Centeno, MD, Sono Bello’s East region medical director, told KFF that many surgeons have past performance issues, which he told KFF was “not, in fact, disqualifying” for job applicants.
“The vast majority of our colleagues are extremely professional and committed to their profession,” Dr. Centeno said in an interview. “And while there may be a momentary lapse or issue with their practice, most of our surgeons take those sanctions, take that counseling, that advice, and improve their practices and go on to be very, very productive members of the medical community.”
He added that Sono Bello has performed “over 300,000 procedures to date,” which he described as “more procedures for more patients completed safely than anyone else in the industry.”
Potential gaps, inconsistencies in training
The article also investigated the wide range of training demanded of surgeons by various cosmetic surgery chains. Some contracts only require that a physician be actively licensed, while others specify that they represent that they are qualified to perform cosmetic surgery. Sono Bello sponsors a six- to eight-week training course for surgeons, which it calls a “fellowship,” to train surgeons on liposuction and tummy tuck procedures. However, a medical expert has testified that Sono Bello’s use of the term “fellowship” is deceptive because the program is not accredited, or recognized by any subspecialty certifying board, professional society or hospital.
This process came under fire in a 2023 malpractice lawsuit filed by Shirley Webb, a 79-year-old woman from Nevada who spent months in hospitals and rehabilitation recovering from sepsis after a tummy tuck and liposuction performed by Sono Bello surgeon Charles Kim, MD, in Las Vegas in 2022. Dr. Kim, a colorectal surgeon, took an alleged Sono Bello “fellowship” earlier that year, and had previously been disciplined by Nevada’s medical licensing board for alleged malpractice when a patient he operated on had died. According to KFF, Sono Bello was aware of this disciplinary action, in addition to four other medical malpractice cases he had settled in court.
In her lawsuit, Webb testified that Sono Bello’s advertisements on television and online led her to believe the company employed only board-certified plastic surgeons. She also said that if she had been aware of Dr. Kim’s background, she would not have had the procedure done at Sono Bello. The parties settled the suit in 2025 under undisclosed terms.
Becker’s has reached out to Goals’ offices in Atlanta and New York, Mia Aesthetics, Belle Medical and Sono Bello for comment. This article will be updated if more information becomes available.
