Orlando physician pleads guilty to using illegal silicone in cosmetic surgeries
The Justice Department says Nhan Pham,54, pleaded guilty to receipt in interstate commerce and proffered delivery of an adulterated device. This violates the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
A sentencing hearing is set for Aug. 14. Pham faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison.
Pham is a physician who performed various cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures. According to the plea agreement, between 2015 and 2019, he ordered silicone oil online and injected that silicone into his patients for gluteal and buttock enhancement procedures at his office and home.
The Justice Department states that the 'U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved the use of injectable silicone for body contouring or enhancement and has issued warnings to the public advising them of the illegality of and health risks associated with silicone injections.'
Prosecutors say Pham inaccurately represented the substance he was injecting into patient's bodies was 'safe,' 'natural' and would dissolve over time.
After receiving the silicone oil injections, prosecutors say patients experienced complications that included sharp and severe pain, discomfort, discoloration, itchiness, burning, inflammation, soreness and hardness in the injection areas.
On Sept. 24, 2019, Pham offered to perform silicone oil injections on an undercover law enforcement agent.
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