4 people arrested, cosmetic surgery center closed; could there be more victims?

WPTV continues to dig into a now-closed cosmetic surgery center in Port St. Lucie that led to four recent arrests.

We wanted to know why two years passed between the first report and the arrests.

WPTV reporter Jon Shainman spoke this week with plastic surgeon Dr. Greg DeLange, who saw some of the victims after their initial treatment at the now-closed Cosmetica Plastic Surgery in Port St. Lucie.

“My job requires 10 to 15 years of training, and they worked for a long time before the state shut them down,” DeLange said.

Port St. Lucie police said Cosmetica Plastic Surgery began as a legitimate business with a doctor.

But investigators said that ultimately, staff took over and performed the surgeries without the doctor’s knowledge, and that a man, Adley DaSilva, performed a surgery but acted merely as a physician’s assistant.

The first complaints were filed in 2022 and Cosmetica was shut down in 2023. Currently, police say they have four victims in this case. WPTV spoke with the Port St. Lucie Police Chief about why it took until 2024 for arrests to be made in this case.

“These cases take a while. You have to find the victims involved. You have to get the victims to cooperate. A lot of times you’re embarrassed when something’s botched,” said Police Chief Richard Del Toro. “You have to get a lot of subpoenas. Then you have to find witnesses and do thorough interviews. There are a lot of HIPPA issues. Then the Department of Health has to do all of its stuff with the medical licenses and all of the administrative stuff on its side.”

Del Toro said he has not seen an increase in these types of cases, but is glad the facility closed last year because, based on his experience, he believes there are likely more victims.

“Surgery is an important process. It carries risks, but also benefits,” says plastic surgeon Dr. Donato Viggiano of Port St. Lucie.

According to Viggiano, it is important for patients who visit a plastic surgeon to make sure they are dealing with one.

In 2023, state lawmakers passed a bill requiring the use of ultrasound guidance in Brazilian Butt Lift procedures.

This year, the governor signed a law requiring surgical practices that perform buttock fat grafting to assume financial responsibility.

“In the state of Florida, any surgeon can perform any procedure in his or her practice, and I find that unfortunate,” Viggiano said.

DaSilva posted bail on Tuesday. WPTV went to his last listed address in Stuart, but no one came to the door.

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