Court in Santa Rosa County Monday, charged Dr. Benjamin Jacob Brown, 41, in the death of his wife, Hillary Ellington Brown, on Nov. 28, 2023

Hillary Ellington Brown, 33, the mother of three young children from a previous was married to Dr. Benjamin Brown for two years

She suffered cardiac arrest and seizures during cosmetic surgery performed by her husband at his practice on November 21, 2023

Initially on life support, she never recovered until the plug was pulled on Nov 28, 2023

Dr Benjamin Brown is charged with Second Degree Felony Homicide: Manslaughter by Culpable Negligence

Arrest comes a month after the State of Florida’s Dept of Health issued an order of emergency restriction of Dr. Brown’s license

Dr. Benjamin Jacob Brown, [left], has been charged in the death of his wife, Hillary Ellington Brown, [right], who died from complications of cosmetic surgery he performed on her in November 2023

Negligence, incompetence or willfulness? Those are the questions after a Florida plastic surgeon was charged following his wife’s death, after surgery on his own operating table.
On Monday, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of Dr. Benjamin Jacob Brown, 41, following the death of his wife, Hillary Ellington Brown, 33, on November 28, 2023.
Brown was charged with Second Degree Felony Homicide: manslaughter by Culpable Negligence. Per the Sheriff’s Office, their deputies responded to Brown’s Restore Plastic Surgery offices to treat a female victim, Hillary Brown, who had suffered cardiac arrest on November 21, 2023.
Initially placed on life support, the plug was pulled a week later on November 28, 2023.

Brown turned himself in and was charged Monday with Second Degree Felony Homicide: Manslaughter by Culpable Negligence. The surgery was performed at his practice, the Restore Plastic Surgery offices, in Gulf Breeze on November 21, 2023

Authorities in Santa Rosa County arrested the prominent surgeon after the State of Florida’s Department of Health issued an order of emergency restriction of Dr. Brown’s license last month, which gave additional insight into the chain of events on the day Hillary Brown went under the knife on her husband’s operating table.
Giving insight into events on the day, the state findings describe, ‘The woman seized and became unresponsive while her husband operated on her — but he allegedly told medical assistants “no” or to “wait” over the next 10-20 minutes, as they asked whether they should call 911.

Hillary Brown, [photo], the mother of three children from a previous marriage wed Ben Brown, two years earlier. The couple in the Tiger Point area of Gulf Breeze until her death in Nov 2023

Hillary Brown, 33, the mother of three young children from a previous marriage wed Dr. Benjamin Brown, in 2021.
The couple lived in the Tiger Point area of Gulf Breeze, Florida until her death in November, 2023.
The state findings as reported by Law&Crime, claim Dr Brown’s wife was set to undergo a miniature muscle plication/abdominal scar revision, bilateral arm liposuction, lip injections, and ear adjustment procedures in November last year..
As part of the pre-op preparations, Hillary Brown, who has no formal medical training as a nurse or doctor, mixed her own IV bags and ingested a “handful” of “multi-colored pills, which included Valium,” the medical board wrote in a scathing finding.

Award-winning plastic surgeon, Dr Ben Brown [left], is charged with Second Degree Felony Homicide: manslaughter by Culpable Negligence following the death of his wife Hillary [right], in November 2023 after suffering a cardiac arrest and seizures during surgery performed by her husband

Per the State’s investigation, the morning of the procedure, Hillary “prepared her own tumescent solution which includes diluted Lidocaine, Epinephrine, and Sodium Bicarbonate” and ingested a “handful” of pills, which allegedly included Valium, Tramadol and Versed.
“She then began to “exhibit effects of sedation.”
There’s no documentation that the solution was prepared correctly, said the State, though Dr. Brown allegedly administered it.
In a more damning claim, the documents state that Hillary Brown “assisted in her own procedure by suturing the skin back together” after the muscle plication and scar revision — but then “became restless and her feet began twitching.”
That report adds that while Dr. Brown was allowing his wife to suture her own skin after the initial procedure, Hillary Brown became “restless and her feet began twitching.”
While Brown was performing liposuction on his wife’s arm, “her twitching worsened,” reads the docs.

Dr Ben Brown [photo], one of the best-known plastic surgeons in Florida’s Gulf, but the State believes that his “continued unrestricted practice as a medical doctor presents an immediate, serious danger to the health, welfare, and safety of the public’

At that point, Dr. Brown documented that he injected a “more concentrated” solution of Lidocaine into his wife’s face and lips … while witnesses allegedly claim he injected undiluted Xylocaine into her face. It’s then, per the docs, Hillary said her vision started to blur and she was seeing “orange.”
The Department of Health noted muscle twitches, restlessness and blurred vision are all early signs of Lidocaine toxicity — though Dr. Brown allegedly kept injecting Lidocaine/Xylocaine into her face.
The patient then became unresponsive and had a seizure.
The document notes that, “a medical assistant asked Dr. Brown if they should call 911 and Dr. Brown said ‘no.’
Over the next 10-20 minutes, a medical assistant asked Dr. Brown if they should call 911 and Dr. Brown said ‘no,’ or ‘wait,'” reads the docs.
“The medical assistant was scared and a new employee, so she did as Dr. Brown instructed,” the state finding adds.

Hillary Ellington’s father speculated she only stayed with Ben Brown because of her easy access to plastic surgery procedures. Ultimately she suffered cardiac arrest during one of these procedures. She was put on life support, before she died 7 days later

According to the filing, the patient should have been immediately transferred to a higher level of care, which they say Dr. Brown failed to do while her “vitals declined.”
The documents also claim Dr. Brown began shouting at staff, asking, “What medication did she take, what did she take?” Then, “after approximately 10-20 minutes” — as Hillary’s “breaths were shallow, and her pulse and blood oxygen levels were low” — her husband asked her assistants to call 911 and began performing CPR.
She was intubated and taken to a hospital nearby, “in cardiac arrest with an elevated lactic acid level and suspected Lidocaine toxicity,” said the State. She never regained consciousness before her death on November 28.

As part of the pre-op preparations, Hillary Brown, [photo], who has no formal medical training as a nurse or doctor, mixed her own IV bags and ingested a “handful” of “multi-colored pills, which included Valium,” the medical board wrote in scathing findings

Per the filing, Dr. Brown’s “attention to his practice declined” in or around 2021, “resulting in an unsafe environment for procedures to be performed.”
“The level of disregard Dr. Brown paid to patient safety, even when the patient was his wife, indicates that Dr. Brown is unwilling or incapable of providing the appropriate level of care to his future patients,” said the Department of Health.
“Dr. Brown’s most problematic violation during H.R.’s procedure was his failure to react swiftly in response to a serious medical emergency,” they continued.
“Despite less experienced staff members requesting to call 911, Dr. Brown delayed the transport of H.R. by telling his staff ‘no’ or to wait. This was compounded by his staff’s apparent lack of knowledge and training.”
The State believed that his “continued unrestricted practice as a medical doctor presents an immediate, serious danger to the health, welfare, and safety of the public.”
The surgeon was booked into the Santa Rosa County Jail and charged with second-degree felony homicide, which is manslaughter by culpable negligence. Brown, 41, was given a bond of $50,000 during his first court appearance Monday afternoon.
Hillary’s father Marty Ellington in a statement said his family “lives in a sea of tears for eternity due to the actions of one careless individual.”
“His ego and arrogance overshadowed the need for help, prolonging oxygen deprivation to her brain and ultimately causing her death. Ben Brown took the mother from my grandchildren, my only daughter and our brightest star,” he continued. “Hillary gave the ultimate sacrifice so Ben Brown cannot hurt anyone else. Maybe in prison, he will get the attention he deserves.”