Women who asked a plastic surgeon to make them look ‘refreshed’ have shared shocking new images showing how they were actually left ‘deformed’.
Sara Dunham reports that she was left ‘disfigured’ after undergoing surgery by Dr. Harvey ‘Chip’ Cole, whom she accuses of performing an unsuccessful operation on her face in 2022.
Dunham said Cole recommended a cheek lift, lip lift, eyelid and ear-pinning surgery after she told him she ‘wanted to look a little refreshed’.
She asserts that the procedure resulted in numerous complications, such as paralysis on the right side of her face, difficulty closing her eye, challenges with eating and drinking, and experiencing a dry mouth.
‘I’m embarrassed by my appearance. I’m embarrassed by my speech. I’m embarrassed that I constantly need to drink something to keep my mouth moist so I can speak,’ she shared with WVUE-TV on Monday.
Dunham is one of at least nine former patients who are suing Cole over his surgeries at Northside Hospital facilities in Atlanta, Georgia.
She has accused Cole of ‘damaging the facial nerve’ and ‘removing too much tissue’ during the procedure, her lawsuit alleges.
Cole, also known as ‘the eye guy’, denies any wrongdoing and his attorney claims they will ‘fight the claims against him’.
The hospital group is also being sued over allegations of negligence and confirmed in December that Cole is not an employee.
Sara Dunham (pictured) has spoken out about the trauma she endured, allegedly at the hands of Georgia-based plastic surgeon Dr. Harvey ‘Chip’ Cole
Dunham said Cole recommended a cheek lift, lip lift, eyelid and ear-pinning surgery after she told him she ‘wanted to look a little refreshed’. But claims the surgery left her battling slew of side effects including right facial paralysis, the inability to close her eye, impaired eating and drinking and dry mouth
Cole is being sued by at least nine former patients who claim his operations left them permanently disfigured.
Several of his former patients are now speaking out about the trauma they have endured from the doctor’s alleged ‘damaging’ procedures.
Kayla Cannon, who went to Cole seeking treatment for a ‘birth defect’ that left her without muscles in her eyelids, told the TV station that her condition is ‘maybe worse’ than before he treated her.
Cannon, 29, claims that although she went to Cole for treatment for her eyelid condition, he also said ‘my cheeks were very flat’ and recommended implants.
In her lawsuit, Cannon claimed the procedure went well, but just weeks later her eyelid dropped back to its original location.
She claims that Cole cut away too much tissue from her eyelids, damaged her eye and also failed to remove cheek implants after they got infected.
Cannon has now had seven more surgeries to try and fix the injuries, but says she is still ‘permanently deformed’.
‘I look worse than when I started and it kills me,’ she told WVUE and further accused the doctor of ‘taking all of my 20s away from me, the most important years of my life’.
Cole has also previously been the subject of malpractice lawsuits featuring similar allegations.
Kayla Cannon, who went to Cole seeking treatment for a ‘birth defect’ that left her without muscles in her eyelids, says that her condition is ‘maybe worse’ than before he treated her
In her lawsuit, Cannon claimed the procedure went well, but just weeks later her eyelid dropped back to its original location. She claims that Cole cut away too much tissue from her eyelids, damaged her eye and also failed to remove cheek implants after they got infected
Dr. Harvey ‘Chip’ Cole is being sued by at least nine former patients who claim he permanently disfigured them with botched procedures at Northside Hospital facilities. He denies any wrongdoing and his attorney claims they will ‘fight the claims against him’
Among those suing him is Julie Kimmerling, who claims the surgeon nicked a blood vessel and nerves in her neck during a procedure in January 2023.
Kimmerling was left with permanent brain injuries and facial paralysis after losing more than a liter of blood, according to her complaint.
Her case cited five former examples of alleged malpractice, including a settlement over the 1999 death of Jeannie Huff during an eyebrow lift surgery.
Another woman alleged that her face became infected after Cole used dirty surgical tools for her operation, according to her attorney.
Betty Nestlehutt and her husband won a $1.2 million payout in 2008 after accusing Cole of destroying the blood supply to her face and leaving her with permanent disfiguration.
Cole’s attorney, in a statement to the TV station, said the surgeon is ‘dedicated to his patients’ and ‘known to handle some of the most difficult cases in his field’.
‘He has grave concerns about the methods that may have been used to identify and solicit his patients, and he questions how it is possible that a single plaintiffs’ attorney has been retained by several former patients,’ Cole’s lawyer added.
Alex Seay, representing the patients, alleged that Cole has demonstrated a ‘pattern in practice of upselling patients for procedures they don’t need and then doing those procedures incorrectly’.
Betty Nestlehutt and her husband won a $1.2 million payout after accusing Cole of destroying the blood supply to her face and leaving her with permanent disfiguration
Former patient Kayla Cannon, 29, provided photos which she claims show how she was left with sunken eyes following a surgery by Cole in 2022
Last year, Cole and his wife Susan Cole filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy after four patients sued him for malpractice.
The couple declared $13.6 million in debts and $37,000 in assets. Since then, a further six patients have launched legal action.
Cole is not certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, a non-regulatory organization considered to be the ‘gold standard certification’ for plastic surgeons.
He is, however, certified by American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, the American Board of Laser Surgery, and the American Board of Ophthalmology.
Georgia Composite Medical Board executive director Jason Jones previously said that the board treats complaints with, ‘the utmost seriousness’, but that no public action has been taken against Coe.
‘Every investigation is unique and requires time to ensure that all concerns are thoroughly addressed,’ Jones said last month.
‘We are currently reviewing and assessing all internal processes to ensure continued integrity and effectiveness in our regulatory responsibilities.’
