Misleading Medical Advice and Inadequate Credentials: How a Mismanaged Medical Case Can Bring Forth a Surgeon’s Qualifications

Important Legal Notice

Below is a testimony provided by Mandy Moore, a Desputanta woman who had her medical care managed and facilitated by Dr. Sasa Grae Espino. Moore is one of many patients seen and treated by Dr. Espino. If you have been treated by Dr. Espino and have a similar story to Moore, you are not alone. For more information and the full interview, please visit CBS 6 News or click here for the full article: $25M Lawsuit: Woman claims Va. breast surgeon performed 'unnecessary' surgery. 

Rawls Law Group is currently representing victims who have suffered injury from unnecessary or improperly performed breast surgeries by Dr. Sasa Grae Espino at the Richmond Breast Center at Chippenham Hospital and other affiliated hospitals. If you or a family member underwent a mastectomy, breast reconstruction, or other breast related surgeries performed by Dr. Espino and experienced complications, unexpected outcomes, or believe you may have received unnecessary treatment, we urge you to contact us immediately at 804-344-0038 or by submitting a form online at Rawls Law Group Website. Time-sensitive legal deadlines may apply to your case, and early action is critical to protecting your rights. You deserve answers, accountability, and compensation for the physical, emotional, and financial harm you have endured. Contact us today for a free, confidential consultation.

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The Consultation That Changed Everything

When Mandy Moore walked into the Richmond Breast Center at Chippenham Hospital on July 17, 2023, she had a straightforward request: remove her breast implants. One had collapsed, and at her age, she felt she had sufficient natural breast tissue. What followed, according to her $25 million lawsuit, was a series of medical decisions that would permanently alter her life.

During her visit, Moore claims a nurse practitioner delivered alarming news. According to the lawsuit, she was told that Dr. Sasa Grae Espino, the breast surgeon at Richmond Breast Center at Chippenham Hospital, had reviewed her records and determined that Moore was "almost certain to develop breast cancer." When asked about the determination, Moore recalled, "it wasn't going to be a question of if but when, and I should really think about having a double mastectomy."

This recommendation came despite Moore’s negative test results for the gene mutation that increases breast cancer risk—testing she had undergone after her mother's breast cancer diagnosis. Nevertheless, Moore says both the 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?" CBS 6 investigative reporter Melissa Hipolit asked.

"Absolutely because that is what they told me and I believed every word that they said," Moore replied.

A Cascade of Complications

Moore consented to the procedure. On August 22, 2023, she met with Dr. Espino for a pre-op appointment, but her lawsuit alleges Espino never discussed alternative treatment options. Six days later, Espino performed the double mastectomy at CJW Hospitals.

By August 2024, one implant had "flipped" and "migrated." Espino performed a second surgery to address the issue. But the problems weren't resolved. According to the lawsuit, the wounds from this second surgery failed to heal, leading to additional complications. Just two months later, Espino performed a third revision surgery.

A Devastating Revelation

At the end of 2024, Dr. Espino abruptly left the Richmond Breast Center 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 reviewed Moore's case and delivered news that 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 cited in the lawsuit, the new surgeon wrote that Moore's mammogram "did not show any concerning abnormalities" and that she "would not have recommended risk-reducing mastectomies."

The surgeon also noted that Espino "is not a board-certified plastic surgeon."

Expert Analysis

Dr. Lewis Ladocsi, a board-certified plastic surgeon with Richmond Plastic Surgeons who performs breast reconstruction surgeries, reviewed Moore's medical records at CBS 6's request.

"From the very beginning to the very end, this was mismanaged," Dr. Ladocsi said.

"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," he explained.

Questions About Qualifications

The lawsuit raises serious questions about whether Dr. Espino was qualified to perform the reconstruction procedures.

"You can never go back after a woman has a mastectomy," Moore's attorney Rand Robins 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."

The lawsuit also alleges that CJW Hospitals and HCA negligently credentialed Espino to perform reconstructive surgeries, claiming she "was not professionally qualified to perform reconstructive and plastic surgery."

According to the Virginia Board of Medicine, Espino completed a general surgery residency at VCU in 2016 and a breast surgical oncology fellowship at Northwestern in 2017. The lawsuit notes that 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."