What we know about Hillary Brown, woman who died after Restore Plastic Surgery procedure
Friends and family described Hillary Ellington Brown as a devoted and loving mother who was always full of fire and energy. But in late November, all of that would be extinguished after the 33-year-old mom began seizing and went into cardiac arrest during a plastic surgery.
Hillary's husband, Dr. Ben Brown, was handling the procedure in his office at Restore Plastic Surgery when things took a turn for the worst. He called 911 and began performing CPR on Hillary after she went into cardiac arrest, but it was too late. A week later, doctors took Hillary off life support while she was in a coma with severe brain swelling from a lack of oxygen in her brain.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office and District One Medical Examiner’s office are working together to uncover what exactly led to Hillary’s death. Here's what we know.
Hillary Brown death: Hillary Brown death sparks investigation at Restore Plastic Surgery. What we know
How did Hillary Brown die?
According to Marty Ellington, Hillary's father, Ben Brown told them he had been performing several procedures on Hillary in his office late on the afternoon of Nov. 21 when she suddenly went into cardiac arrest.
In a social media post from Nov. 24, Brown wrote about his wife's coma.
"We need prayers for a miracle. Hillary had a cardiac arrest on Tuesday afternoon," Brown wrote. "We called 911 and started CPR. Her heart came back but her brain is not doing well. She has been in a coma since she went unconscious on Tuesday. Hillary Ellington Brown you are my soulmate, my world, my everything. Please come back. Please!"
The post was accompanied by a praying hands emoji and dozens of pictures of Hillary Brown, some with her husband, others with her children. In one picture of Hillary with her dog, Brown drew a heart around his wife's face with an arrow pointing to one of her breasts.
According to a Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office incident report, Brown called 9-1-1 from his Restore Plastic Surgery office in the Tiger Point area of Gulf Breeze around 4:15 p.m. on Nov. 21.
The call notes stated there was a female in cardiac arrest: "DR POSS OVER MEDICATED PATIENT."
"I interviewed the medical technician (name redacted) who advised the patient is Hillary E. Rogers Brown, who is currently Dr. Brown's spouse," a deputy wrote. "Hillary Brown was in the process of several surgical procedures when she experienced several seizures and then went into cardiac arrest."
The Santa Rosa Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit and the District One Medical Examiner are now investigating Hillary's death.
Where was Hillary Brown from?
Hillary Ellington Brown was born in Mobile, Alabama, on Sept. 2, 1990. Her parents described her as being "full of fire and energy" since she was a girl.
She attended Oxford High School and graduated from North Delta in Batesville, Mississippi, where she pursued a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering at the University of Mississippi, according to her obituary.
Dr. Ben Brown: Who is Dr. Ben Brown, the Gulf Breeze doctor who performed fatal surgery on Hillary Brown?
Hillary Brown had three kids from a previous marriage
Hillary Brown was a mom to three young children, ages 4 to 8, from a previous marriage. Her parents and friends described her as a loving and devoted mother. After her death, Hillary's three children went to live with their father.
Hillary and Ben Brown had a 'volatile' relationship
Ben and Hillary Brown started dating in 2021, according to his social media, and they married in June 2022. She has three young children, ages 4 to 8, from a previous marriage, and he has two sons. Ellington said Hillary and Brown had a “volatile” relationship that sometimes blew hot then cold, but for the most part Hillary enjoyed their life together, especially having her husband regularly perform plastic surgery procedures on her face and body.
“She was gorgeous. We kept telling her, ‘Why are you doing this?’" Ellington said of their conversations.
What happened to Hillary Brown: Dr. Ben Brown performed multiple procedures on wife before her heart stopped
Hillary’s father and friends said there had been indications Brown was unhappy in her marriage, but that she was reluctant to leave and wanted to make their relationship work.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Who was Hillary Brown, woman who died after Restore plastic surgery?
