A Houston doctor is in hot water after being hit with serious charges for allegedly allowing an unlicensed assistant to take the scalpel and carry out plastic surgeries at his clinic. Dr. Rodolfo Garma Giraldi, 82, the owner and operator of the Houston Aesthetic Center, is charged with aiding Alexander Padilla, 53, in practicing medicine without a Texas license, a felony that could land him substantial time behind bars.
Houston's law enforcement caught on to the alleged illicit activities after multiple women came forward, claiming to have suffered at the hands of Padilla's botched operations. According to the Houston Chronicle, the total sum of complaints extending from infections to disfigurement has grown to fourteen, painting a darker image of negligence within the Houston Aesthetic Center's walls.
While Padilla's defense maintains his past medical credentials from Venezuela and argues that dissatisfaction with cosmetic surgery results isn't grounds for criminal charges, distraught patients tell a different story. Quoted in a KPRC 2 interview, one of the affected women, a 39-year-old mother, expressed her pain and anger, stating, "We all need justice. We received care from basically a fake doctor." She detailed her chilling experience of multiple infections and a hematoma after procedures she believed would be performed by a qualified surgeon.
According to the Harris County District Attorney's Office, the entire clinic was purportedly complacent in allowing Padilla's unauthorized practice. Assistant District Attorney Sheila Hansel emphasized to KPRC 2, "The whole clinic was in on promoting and encouraging and aiding Alex Padilla to be practicing medicine without a license, which put all of those women in danger." Questions prevail as whether Giraldi, who is currently free on a $10,000 bond, knowingly allowed Padilla to engage in these illegal surgeries, or if he turned a blind eye to the activities occurring under his licensure.
Victims cited situations where they were instructed to pay for their surgeries in cash, a practice that now raises red flags about the legitimacy of the care they received. As court dates loom for both Padilla, who is slated to appear on June 6, and Giraldi, set for arraignment on May 15, the scrutiny of their actions intensifies while the victims seek justice for the harm that has been wrought.
