A Los Angeles plastic surgeon is under scrutiny after being accused of inappropriate behavior with female patients, as highlighted in a new disciplinary report.
Dr. Arian Mowlavi, also known by his moniker ‘Dr. Laguna,’ has faced various accusations since 2021. Allegations include inappropriately touching a patient’s breasts and causing another patient significant harm, resulting in scars and a serious infection.
In the latest complaint filed by the Medical Board of California, an additional 18 former patients have accused him of gross negligence and misconduct.
The filing includes a claim from a former patient saying the surgeon promised to enhance her appearance to resemble that of a stripper. Furthermore, a dozen women reported being asked to enter the operating room in the nude, contradicting standard medical procedures where patients typically wear gowns and are transported on stretchers.
Former patients also claimed Mowlavi marked their bodies for surgery, a common practice, but did so in the company of other men and without a female chaperone. Although not mandatory, some surgeons choose to have a chaperone present to ensure patient comfort.
The Daily Mail reached out to both Mowlavi and one of his former attorneys for comment on these latest claims but did not receive a response. Previously, Mowlavi has consistently denied all allegations made against him.
Mowlavi – who published the book ‘High Definition Liposuction’ – ran a clinic out of Laguna Beach, California, where he promised women hourglass figures and perfect ‘pop’ butts.
The surgeon, who was previously drafted to help train new medical professionals, even once described himself as ‘one of the top body sculptors around the world.’
Dr Arian Mowlavi, also known as ‘Dr Laguna’, is pictured above. He was an Instagram-famous plastic surgeon who promised women hourglass figures and the perfect ‘pop’ butts
But in the latest disciplinary filing, made by the Medical Board of California on August 25,Mowlavi is accused of allegedly ‘lifting [a patient’s] breasts with his hands… marked her unclothed body for surgery in the presence of other men… pressed his body against her body as he conducted his examination.’
The case, which had no clear date, also noted repeatedly that ‘no female chaperone was present,’ according to reporting by NBC4 Los Angeles.
The Daily Mail has been unable to independently review the allegations because the Medical Board of California’s website has not been functional since Friday. Repeated calls and emails to the board from this website have gone unanswered.
Once an accusation is filed by the medical board, it triggers a multi-stage process in California to determine whether a doctor should be disciplined or have their license suspended or revoked.
Mowlavi has 15 days to respond before a hearing date is set in front of an administrative tribunal. At the time of writing, no date regarding the hearing pertaining to the most recent filing appears to have been set.
According to NBC4 Los Angeles, a separate hearing to address different accusations made by four other patients is slated for December, and another lawsuit is set to go to trial next year. However, the outlet reported that the civil case is on hold pending the conclusion of Mowlavi’s criminal trial.
In July 2024, Dr Mowlavi was charged with two felony charges of battery with serious bodily injury, and entered a plea of not guilty at his arraignment in September that year. In August this year, two additional charges were added to the case for felony battery.
Shown above is Millie Martini, one of Mowlavi’s patients. She says she had to have her nipples removed after having liposuction with the doctor
For surgeons, felony battery means they are accused of carrying out a medical procedure on a patient without their consent and, if found guilty, can carry a years-long prison sentence.
One of Mowlavi’s former patients, Millie Martini, filed her own lawsuit against the doctor and is involved in the latest disciplinary filing. She previously told the Daily Beast that went to the doctor for liposuction in 2022, but claimed she was pressured into agreeing to a ‘mommy makeover’ that included a breast lift and removal of her existing breast implants.
On the day of her operation, Martini claimed she was taken into the surgery room and painted with an antiseptic solution while Mowlavi asked staff to put on loud heavy metal music.
After waking up, Martini alleged she found herself slumped in a wheelchair in the office’s hallway outside the operating room.
She claimed Mowlavi then told her there was a problem with her surgery, but did not specify the complication, before she was transferred to a post-operative care facility.
That evening, Martini claimed she discovered her nipples had become black, oozing and were partially detached.
In her lawsuit against the doctor, filed in Orange County and reported by the Daily Beast, she claimed she returned to his office on August 25, several days after surgery, for what she thought was a scheduled post-op appointment.
The lawsuit states she said she did not want more surgery and believed Mowlavi when he said he would just ‘clean her nipples under surgical lights.’ She said she was shocked to later return home and find out her nipples had been removed.
Several days later, per the lawsuit, Martini went to her local ER, where she said doctors told her she had life-threatening sepsis and could have died if she had waited another 24 hours.
Irlanda Swarthout (pictured) died after procedures done by Mowlavi in August 2018
Mowlavi’s clinic in Laguna Hills, California
Mowlavi, however, was just months away from a 90-day suspension and 10-year probation, disciplinary action taken by the medical board after one of his previous patients died.
According to the medical board, the patient, identified in court records as Irlanda Swarthout, went to Mowlavi for liposuction and a tummy tuck in August 2018. About five hours after the surgery, however, she was rushed to the ER unresponsive after complaining of shortness of breath and collapsing at home.
She died three days later as a result of internal bleeding that caused her heart to stop, the board reported.
In August 2020, Mowlavi paid her family $1 million and the medical board accused him of gross negligence, dishonesty or corruption, general unprofessional conduct and failure to report the event on time.
The disciplinary action, however, did not take effect until October 2022.
Mowlavi has previously faced multiple accusations over his conduct.
In a December 2021 class action lawsuit filed by 36 former patients, he was accused of groping them in the exam room and making lewd comments about their bodies.
In an interview with NBC Los Angeles, one patient in the lawsuit, Toni Arken, described an undated appointment with the doctor.
‘So, he grabs me about two inches above my vagina while I’m naked,’ she claimed.
‘He grabs me right underneath my breast from behind, so he’s pulling and pushing up and cinching down: ‘This is how it’s going to look!’
‘He definitely body shames you into doing other surgeries.’
In the lawsuit, one patient, identified only as KM and whose experience was also undated, claimed that a video of her surgery was posted online without her permission.
In the clip, Mowlavi said: ‘This woman had no magic, no pop, had a square masculine shape. Look what I can do.’ According to the suit, the woman said she did not consent to be filmed, ‘much less be insulted.’
Another patient claimed that, when she said she did not want photos of her surgery on Instagram, Mowlavi’s staff told her it was an ‘honor’ to be posted on the doctor’s account.
In another allegation, per the Daily Beast, a nurse also claimed she saw the doctor make a comment about a patient while they were under anesthesia. She claimed he called a patient ‘hot’ and then slapped the patient’s butt twice.
In February 2024, Mowlavi’s insurance company agreed to pay $6 million to the patients to settle the lawsuit. Mowlavi has not admitted wrongdoing.
