RICHMOND, Va. — A Disputanta woman says she walked into a local hospital for help with a collapsed breast implant, but ended up undergoing a surgery she claims was unnecessary and has been life altering.
On top of that, she claims the surgeon who performed the operation should never have been allowed to perform breast reconstruction.
She spoke with CBS 6 investigative reporter Melissa Hipolit to outline the allegations she's making in a $25 million lawsuit.
When Mandy Moore walked into the Richmond Breast Center, which her lawyer says at the time was located inside Chippenham Hospital, on July 17, 2023, she says she only wanted one thing.
"I had told them I just wanted my implants removed, I wasn't 20 anymore, I had enough breast tissue," Moore said.
A mammogram showed one implant had collapsed, but Moore says when she arrived, she received shocking news from a nurse practitioner at the center.
In her lawsuit, Moore alleges she was told that the breast surgeon in the practice, Dr. Sasa Grae Espino, had reviewed her records and that she was almost certain to develop breast cancer.
"It wasn't going to be a question of if but when, and I should really think about having a double mastectomy," Moore said.
Moore underwent testing after her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, but those results were negative for gene mutations that increase breast cancer risk.
And yet she claims in her lawsuit that a nurse practitioner and Dr. Espino encouraged her to undergo a preventative double mastectomy with implants.
"Did you feel like if I don't get this done, I will get breast cancer?" Hipolit asked Moore.
"Absolutely because that is what they told me and I believed every word that they said," Moore replied.
So Moore consented to a double mastectomy with implants.
On August 22, 2023, she met Dr. Espino for her pre-op appointment, but her lawsuit claims Espino never discussed alternative treatment options.
Six days later, Espino performed the operation at CJW Hospitals, according to the lawsuit.
By August 2024, one implant had “flipped" and “migrated," according to the lawsuit.
Moore’s operative note states this occurred “after being involved in a car crash.”
Espino operated again, according to the lawsuit.
Moore’s lawsuit states the wounds from this second surgery "did not heal and she developed more problems.”
Just two months later, Espino performed another revision surgery.
"I'm thinking what the hell is going on," Moore said.
At the end of 2024, Espino abruptly left Richmond Breast Center, according to the lawsuit, and moved to Alabama to take a part-time position at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Montgomery Breast Surgery Program.
A new breast surgeon at the Richmond Breast Center saw Moore and delivered news that she says left her devastated.
"She said to me she read all my medical, and she would never have done a double mastectomy," Moore said.
According to medical records quoted in the lawsuit, that surgeon wrote that Moore's mammogram "did not show any concerning abnormalities" and that she "would not have recommended risk-reducing mastectomies."
She also noted Espino "is not a board-certified plastic surgeon.”
"From the very beginning to the very end, this was mismanaged," Dr. Lewis Ladocsi, a board-certified plastic surgeon with Richmond Plastic Surgeons said.
Dr. Ladocsi performs breast reconstruction surgeries and works with a lot of patients who have breast cancer or genetic mutations, and we showed him Moore's medical records.
"Although her breast cancer risk was high, about twice what is the normal breast cancer risk, the appropriate management for that situation was closer observation, it was not surgical intervention," Dr. Ladocsi said.
Moore has now filed a medical malpractice lawsuit in Richmond Circuit Court.
"You can never go back after a woman has a mastectomy," Moore's attorney Rand Robins, with LANTZ & ROBINS, P.C., said. "To take that away from her when it never needed to happen is unforgivable."
Robins argues that Espino acted "in violation of the standard of care" and was "highly motivated by the money she earned for performing these procedures.”
He also claims CJW Hospitals and HCA negligently credentialed Espino to perform reconstructive surgeries, alleging in the lawsuit she “was not professionally qualified to perform reconstructive and plastic surgery."
Espino completed a general surgery residency at VCU in 2016 and a breast surgical oncology fellowship at Northwestern in 2017, according to the Virginia Board of Medicine’s practitioner information.
Two years later, she talked about breast cancer screening and prevention on CBS 6's Virginia This Morning program.
"I want patients to look in the mirror and be happy with who they are and happy with what they look like in 5 years, 10 years, 15 years," Dr. Espino said on the show.
According to the lawsuit, plastic surgeons generally perform breast reconstruction, and "it is very unusual for a breast surgeon to perform breast reconstruction procedures."
"Do breast surgeons [typically] do breast reconstruction like the implants?" Hipolit asked Dr. Ladocsi.
"Typically they do not," he replied. "The patients have to look for plastic surgeons when they have reconstruction of any sort, and they have to look for the interlocking arcs of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons on the doctor's business cards or logo or websites."
Moore has also filed a complaint with the Virginia Board of Medicine, and hopes to get strong enough for one more surgery to repair the damage.
But she says the emotional harm she's suffered is irreparable.
"Shame on you, shame on you, I can't even cry anymore because I am just so mad," she said.
CBS 6 tried to contact Dr. Espino.
Attorney Elizabeth Papoulakos, a partner with Harman Claytor Corrigan and Wellman, responded with the following statement:
"Dr. Espino is a board-certified general surgeon, currently licensed in Virginia and Alabama to practice medicine and surgery.
Her practice is focused on the comprehensive breast care for women, including but not limited to mastectomies, breast reconstruction and breast conserving surgery. She also treats benign disease and performs surgical breast biopsy and reduction mammoplasty.
Dr. Espino attended medical school at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, completed a general surgery residency at VCU Health in Richmond, Virginia, and completed a breast surgery fellowship at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, Illinois. During this specialized fellowship, Dr. Espino was trained by surgical oncologists and plastic surgeons to perform breast oncologic and reconstructive surgery. Dr. Espino received certification in oncoplastic breast surgery in 2023 from the National Consortium of Breast Surgery. Dr. Espino was previously employed as a breast surgeon with Richmond Breast Center in Richmond, Colonial Heights and Spotsylvania, Virginia. Dr. Espino was credentialed and had privileges at multiple Richmond area hospitals to practice oncoplastic breast surgery."
Chippenham and Johnston Willis Hospital, HCA, and another defendant in the lawsuit have filed motions to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing in part that she filed her lawsuit too late.
In its response, CJW claims it did not permit Espino to perform complex breast reconstruction surgeries for patients and denies it was highly profitable for CJW when Espino performed mastectomies and breast reconstruction surgeries together.
When we asked HCA Healthcare’s Capital Division about Moore’s claims, spokesperson Wes Hester sent us the following statement:
Dr. Sasa Espino was previously credentialed by Chippenham and Johnston-Willis Hospitals to perform breast reconstruction surgeries.
Dr. Espino’s request for privileges was carefully reviewed by a Credentials Committee and Medical Executive Committee. These committees evaluate many factors including the provider’s formal training, certifications, licenses, and past surgical experience—including procedures performed during residency, fellowship, and at other facilities. The committees also review case logs and other documentation to ensure the provider has demonstrated competency in the requested procedure. Our hospital providers are continuously evaluated through an ongoing professional practice review to maintain high standards of care.
In the days ahead, we'll introduce you to another former patient who has filed a lawsuit alleging Espino botched her breast surgery.
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