Several videos of the doctor singing and dancing over unconscious patients in her operating room have also been posted online recently.
According to WSB-TV Atlanta, one of the lawsuits against the board-certified dermatologist was filed by 26-year-old Ojay Liburd. According to Liburd, his mother, Icilma Cornelius, went to see Boutte for liposuction and a panniculectomy, commonly known as a tummy tuck, before her wedding.
"She just wanted to be perfect for her wedding dress," Liburd told WSB-TV Atlanta. "She had everything going for her."
However, after a procedure lasting longer than eight hours on February 18, 2016, Cornelius went into cardiac arrest and suffered permanent brain damage. According to the plaintiff, Cornelius was not intubated and placed under general anaesthesia during the procedure. Instead, she was administered propofol and fentanyl, prescription drugs that promote relaxation and sleepiness, and was not monitored throughout the procedure.
Court documents state that when a staffer in the office finally called 911 and first responders stabilized Cornelius, it took Boutte almost 30 minutes to continue stitching up her patient's abdomen. The facility's elevator was also too small for the stretcher and first responders were forced to carry Cornelius down the stairs.
The lawsuit was settled earlier this year for a confidential amount.
According to the surgeon's website, "Dr. Boutte is board certified in both surgery and dermatology." However, according to state medical records obtained by WSB-TV Atlanta, while Boutte is a board-certified dermatologist, she is not board certified in general surgery or plastic surgery, which means that she was operating illegally.
A common way unscrupulous physicians circumvent legal obstacles is by using such exaggerated credentials and performing cosmetic procedures that are paid for in cash rather than by insurance, according to a 2015 report published in the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology.
Sisters Mitzi McFarland and Kristine Dolly also saw Boutte in May 2015. The sisters requested Smart Lipo, a procedure in which fat is removed using a laser. However, according to their lawsuits, Boutte performed conventional liposuction on both of them.
"After the surgery my left side looked like something out of a Frankenstein horror movie," McFarland said.
"It's more like Freddie Krueger cut my stomach," she added.
According to McFarland, she woke up from the procedure in a random hotel room with a McDonald's sandwich in her hand.
"I was put to sleep, and then I woke up some 18 hours later in the hotel bedroom with a McDonald's sandwich in my hand, one bite out of it," McFarland said.
McFarland and Dolly had their operations scheduled weeks apart, because Boutte offered them a limited-time sister discount.
"I don't feel like a normal person. I just feel deformed," after the surgery, Dolly said, WSB-TV Atlanta reported.
Additional lawsuits have been filed against Boutte, although the details of those cases are unknown.
