Miami Beach company's ads promising patients a ‘dream body’ with minimal risk get little scrutiny

“I just don't understand how she came back to me in a body bag,” says Ste’Aira Ballard, who is suing a California cosmetic surgery clinic and the surgeon who performed liposuction and a fat transfer procedure on her mother, Tamala Smith. Smith died in 2023, less than two weeks after the procedures. The clinic and the surgeon deny negligence, and the lawsuit is pending. (Nic Antaya for KFF Health News)

By Fred Schulte, KFF Health News

Lenia Watson-Burton, a 37-year-old U.S. Navy administrator, expected that cosmetic surgery would get rid of stubborn fat quickly and easily — just as the web advertising promised.

Instead, she died three days after a liposuction-like procedure called AirSculpt at the San Diego office of Miami Beach-based Elite Body Sculpture, a cosmetic surgery chain with more than 30 offices across the U.S. and Canada, court records show.

Cosmetic surgery chains setting up shop in multiple states depend heavily on advertising to attract customers: television, print, social media influencers, even texts hawking discounted holiday rates. The pitches typically promise patients life-changing body shaping with minimal pain and a quick recovery.

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Miami Beach company's ads promising patients a ‘dream body’ with minimal risk get little scrutiny

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