An Inside Edition investigation has found 10 patients who are suing Dr. Ayman Shahine over botched procedures.
Reality TV stars like Mob Wives’ Renee Graziano and Love & Hip Hop’s Kimbella may swear by Dr. Ayman Shahine, but not everyone is a fan of the gynecologist turned cosmetic surgeon.
Connie Zuniga, 29, wanted to get her bikini figure back, but claims the Brazilian butt lift performed by Dr. Shahine left her disfigured.
“I looked in the mirror and hated what I saw," she told Inside Edition. "I am just ugly now. I couldn't believe what I looked like."
She isn't the only one with regrets, as Inside Edition has found 10 patients currently suing Dr. Shahine for malpractice.
One woman, who asked to appear in disguise, says she was horrified by the way her stomach looked after her liposuction. When she complained, she says the doctor agreed to fix it and told her to come in at 3 a.m.
Five hours later, she says she recorded a video that she claims shows Dr. Shahine nodding off just before the procedure was going to begin. At that point, the patient says she left.
Her attorney, Marion Conde, spoke to Inside Edition’s Chief Investigative Correspondent Lisa Guerrero.
"I was outraged," Conde said after viewing the video. “I believe this was gross negligence, gross incompetence, and one day he's going to hurt someone.”
Inside Edition asked Dr. Adam Rubinstein, a board certified plastic surgeon and member of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, to examine Zuniga. He says her procedure was botched.
“Without a doubt — there is no doubt in my mind — I would call that a botched procedure,” Rubinstein said.
Guerrero posed as a patient interested in liposuction and brought along Dr. Rubinstein as her husband.
Dr. Shahine wasn't present for the appointment. Instead, Guerrero was evaluated by a woman named Aura.
She suggested not only liposuction, but also a Brazilian butt lift and breast surgery.
When Guerrero asked whether Aura was a doctor, she said no, but said she was "a nurse."
Dr. Rubinstein said he was surprised the doctor wasn't there for the evaluation.
“We would have never seen the doctor until that moment before surgery and to me, that's just insanity," Rubinstein said. "That is not the way it should be done."
Dr. Shahine did not return Inside Edition’s calls, so Guerrero met him as he showed up to his office at 7 p.m.
"Some people think your license should be suspended — what's your comment about that?” she asked. He did not respond.
Two days later, he agreed to sit down with Guerrero and denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
“Patients say you have botched their surgeries and left them disfigured,” Guerrero told the doctor.
“Look, 99.99 percent of my patients are very, very happy and we have amazing results,” he said.
Guerrero showed the doctor a photo of Zuniga.
“I know this particular patient," he said. "This lady had surgery by me and I told her, 'Do not sit on your butt until you are fully healed.'"
“Bottom line is that you are saying it's her fault?" Guerrero pressed. "You’re saying these patients aren't abiding on what you are telling them to do?"
“Many of them,” he replied.
Guerrero then asked him about Aura, the woman who evaluated her, and asked if she was, in fact, a nurse.
“No, she is not a nurse," he said. "She is an educational consultant."
"Aura said she was a nurse," Guerrero said.
"No, you are lying,” he told her. “In fact, there is nothing in her desk or her clothing that tells [you] she is a nurse."
"Well, her mouth told me she was a nurse," Guerrero fired back.
He said he would check after the interview, and later said that she misspoke.
As for the video that appears to show the doctor nodding off, he says it was filmed by a disgruntled former employee trying to discredit him.
“This video of me shot by one of my staff who was fired, trying to make look bad," he claimed. “Where am I performing surgery here? I’m sitting at my desk, putting my hand on my head, like I have a headache. This is not falling asleep. You don't fall asleep like this."
Zuniga wishes she had never stepped in Dr. Shahine's office.
"I just didn't want to be on Earth anymore," she said.
The New York State Department of Health is investigating Dr. Shahine for negligence, incompetence and fraud, allegations he denies.
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