Shock photos of women disfigured by 'butcher' plastic surgeon allowed to keep operating

A plastic surgeon accused of carrying out horribly procedures that left several of his female patients permanently disfigured has had his medical licence renewed.

Dr Harvey "Chip" Cole is allowed to continue operating for the next two years, despite being sued by ten former patients who claim they underwent by him at Northside centres in Atlanta, Georgia, between 2022 and 2023. Online records show Dr Cole's licence was renewed by the Georgia Composite Medical Board until March 2027, but his profile suggests he has no hospital privileges, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reports. Alex Seay, a for Cole's former patients, called the move a "slap in the face to our clients".

"This is why our civil justice system is so important," he said. "The agencies in charge of protecting Georgians are not doing it."

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Dr Cole, who runs Oculus Plastic Surgery, has meanwhile denied all of the claims against him, stating on his website that he offers "unparalleled expertise." The Northside Hospital group where he carried out some of his procedures is also being sued over allegations of negligence, and confirmed in December that Cole is no longer an employee. Julie Kimmerling is one of several patients taking legal action against Dr Cole, claiming the surgeon ruined a blood vessel and nerves in her neck during a procedure in January 2023 - which resulted in permanent brain injuries and facial paralysis. Dr Cole denies any wrongdoing in the lawsuit.

Former patient Kayla Cannon, 29, shared shocking photos of herself after her procedure with the surgeon, and claims her sunken eyes were a direct result of her surgery by Dr Cole in 2022. According to Cannon, too much tissue was cut from her eyelids, which left her eye damaged - and Dr Cole also failed to remove cheek implants after they became infected.

Cannon had already undergone multiple procedures on her eyes to help treat a birth defect that means she has no muscles at the bottom of her eyelids. She told WSB: "He said that I can fix you, I can make you better. I’ve always struggled with my appearance, and I was just very excited to finally get to be happy." She added that she was talked into have cheek implants, which caused an infection. "He took half my lid off, so it was extremely tight. And he kept saying, I'll fix it. I'll fix it. Then I got infections on my cheeks," she said.

She has since undergone seven additional surgeries to try and fix her injuries. She said: "I look worse than when I started seeing him. Permanent scarring that will never go away."

Dr Cole has also been involved in malpractice lawsuits featuring similar allegations. In Kimmerling's case, there was mention of five other cases 0 including a settlement over the death of patient Jeannie Huff during an eyebrow lift surgery in 1999.

Another patient claimed her face became infected after she was operated on by Dr Cole with dirty surgical tools, her lawyer said. In 2008, Betty Nestlehutt and her husband won a payout of $1.2 million (£900,000) after accusing the surgeon of destroying the blood supply to her face - and leaving her with permanent disfiguration.

Last year, Dr Cole and his wife Susan Cole filed for bankruptcy after the medic was sued by four patients for malpractice. The pair declared $13.6 million (£10.3 million) in debts and $37,000 (£28,000) in assets. Since then, six more of Dr Cole's patients have launched legal action against him.

Jason Jones, Executive Director of Georgia Composite Medical Board, said the board treats complaints with "the utmost seriousness", but that no public action has been taken against Cole. "Every investigation is unique and requires time to ensure that all concerns are thoroughly addressed," Jones said. "We are currently reviewing and assessing all internal processes to ensure continued integrity and effectiveness in our regulatory responsibilities."