SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah cosmetic surgeon who has been sued by five of his former patients for medical malpractice – and faced separate actions against his license in three states– is now at risk of losing his license.
That's the recommendation of the Utah Division of Professional Licensing after an investigation by the agency surfaced new allegations against the doctor.
The division has charged Christopher Kelly with five counts of unprofessional conduct for failing to maintain proper medical records, seven counts for failing to support continuity of care for his patients and one count for prescribing opioids without checking the state’s Controlled Substances Database.
He also faces one count of practicing as a physician through “gross incompetence, gross negligence or a pattern of incompetence or negligence,” according to a copy of the document obtained by FOX 13 News through an open records request.
Roiann Marrelli, a Saratoga Springs resident who sued Kelly after she developed a severe infection following a breast augmentation surgery in 2021, said she was “shocked” but not surprised to hear of the new allegations against the doctor.
“I think that a person like this really should have the licensing taken away,” she said in a recent interview. “Hopefully they’ll hold him accountable and we can kind of stop this madness.”
As part of its complaint, the Utah Division of Professional Licensing has requested that Kelly’s license be revoked for at least five years. The state Medical Licensing Board is scheduled to hear evidence in the case and make a final recommendation on his punishment toward the end of March.
Mark Steinagel, director of the state’s licensing division, said in an interview that most licensees end up entering a settlement with the state before a case goes to a hearing.
"People don’t like going to a hearing if our evidence is strong,” he said. “And usually if we’re getting to the point of filing a petition, it’s because we and our attorney general representative believe the evidence is strong.”
Scott Gordon, an attorney representing Kelly before the state’s medical board, offered several explanations for the allegations raised in the state’s complaint in response to a series of questions from FOX 13 News.
He said in an email that Kelly’s old practice had failed to provide his correct contact information to patients and that the doctor’s access to medical records was refused by his old medical center. And he credited Kelly for the “care, concern and professionalism” he provided to the patient Kelly says he helped get off opioids.
Gordon also questioned the decision by FOX 13 News to run a story on the allegations against Kelly prior to his hearing, saying that doing so was “seeking to present an unfair bias.”
FOX 13 News commonly runs stories about allegations made against defendants prior to a hearing, whether in a criminal or administrative proceeding. The station reached out to Kelly’s attorney for comment repeatedly and offered both an on-camera interview or the opportunity to answer written questions to ensure he had a fair chance to respond.
'You just didn’t hear from him’
While Marrelli is not one of the nine patients whose cases are included in the division’s complaint, her experience mirrors others detailed by the state.
Marrelli alleged in her lawsuit – which recently settled out of court for an undisclosed amount and with no admission of liability from Kelly – that her surgery led to an infection that opened gaping wounds in her chest and turned her breasts black from necrosis.
She said she needed a revision surgery, but that Kelly instead dropped her as a patient while she “still had holes from my incisions being opened up.” Kelly denied that claim in court filings.
“I was supposed to go in for an appointment and they said he needed to cancel,” Marrelli said in an interview. “And from there it just was like a snowball effect. He kept canceling appointments until you just didn’t hear from him.”
The division’s complaint alleges that Kelly “abandoned” several other patients who needed revision surgeries.
He failed to tell some of his patients that he had left the Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah and did not respond to their texts seeking additional medical help, according to the complaint. One patient even showed up for an appointment only to find out he no longer worked there.
The state says Kelly told other patients he would continue their care once he established a new practice, but he never did – nor did he help them find a new provider.
“It makes you feel like what have you done wrong?” Marrelli said of her own experience with the surgeon. “What did you do wrong to make them drop you as a patient or just stop communicating with you?”
The state’s complaint cites the American Medical Association’s Code of Ethics, which says physicians have a responsibility to support “continuity of care for their patients.”
Physicians who terminate a doctor-patient relationship must notify the patient in advance so he or she can find another provider, and they should also facilitate the transfer of care when appropriate, the ethics code says.
In a response to FOX 13 News, Kelly’s attorney said the Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah failed to correctly provide patients with the doctor's contact information at his new practice, which he said was “limited to a ‘procedure room,’” not a full surgical center.
Patients who reached out to Kelly at his new practice “were provided follow-up care unless they required ‘surgical revisions,’” Gordon wrote in an email.
Marrelli ultimately underwent corrective surgery with a different physician, who found that the implants initially put in her body were not the size or type she had consented to. She alleged in her lawsuit that those larger, heavier implants — the difference between the C cup bra size she wanted and the DDD cup she says she got — had contributed to the risk of her incisions opening up and becoming infected.
In addition to concerns about continuity of care, the Division of Professional Licensing’s investigation also found that Kelly failed to keep proper medical records for several patients. There were no medical records at all for one of Kelly’s patients and no operative notes for several others, according to the complaint.
Gordon said Kelly’s access to patient records has been “cut off” because he is no longer an employee at his previous medical center. He said the center has "refused" Kelly’s request for full patient records.
The final allegation against Kelly relates less to his work as a cosmetic surgeon and more to his role as a prescriber.
The complaint says Kelly saw a patient in 2022 who was taking “very high doses of Oxycodone” to deal with pain. He promised to “assist” her in “weaning off opioid use” and replacing with “healthy alternatives.”
Instead, the complaint says Kelly ended up issuing the patient 11 new prescriptions – including Oxycodone – over a one-year period, without checking the state’s Controlled Substances Database as required.
Gordon said in an email to FOX 13 News that the patient had approached Kelly seeking cosmetic procedures, “but due to the patient’s history of very high dosage opiates prescribed, the procedure was not a safe option.”
After several pain clinics rejected her for treatment, Kelly took her on as a patient and helped transition her “from very high opiate prescription to effectively no opiates in only 8 months as the more ‘healthy alternative.’”
“Dr. Kelly did not begin the patient on the opiates, but rather worked with the patient to resolve this use,” Gordon continued, adding that the patient credits Kelly with “helping to dramatically improve” her life.
“Most doctors would not have cared enough to undertake this situation,” he concluded, “and Dr. Kelly’s efforts proved to be life-changing.”
VIDEO BELOW: Mark Steinagel with the Utah Division of Professional Licensing shares how the public can help weed out problematic providers
'A problem actor out there’
Grant A. Fairbanks, a board-certified plastic surgeon in South Jordan, praised the state for “really trying to keep people safe” by taking action in cases like these.
But he said the situation highlights the importance of patients doing thorough research before they go under the knife – including making sure their doctor is board-certified to practice plastic surgery.
“We have a lot of very good, board-certified plastic surgeons in the state of Utah,” he said. “And we have them nationwide. But as in any other profession, there’s always some that are not making the mark. And that is where vetting the surgeon yourself as a patient is important.”
Marrelli said she originally believed Kelly was board-certified but later found out that wasn't the case.
Steinagel, with the state Division of Professional Licensing, agreed that patients need to do their due diligence when choosing a provider.
“We know that there are fantastic contractors and contractors that don’t do as good of a job,” he said. “That doesn’t cease to exist just because someone went to medical school.
There are going to be surgeons that are the top of the profession and those that are not as top of the profession.”
While licensing regulations and investigations can help weed out problematic actors, Steinagel said, they can’t control “for all problems.”
“We still need the public to do their own research and we still need them to let us know if there’s a problem actor out there in society,” he added.
Three years after her surgery, Marrelli said she’s still dealing with the emotional and physical ramifications – and she urged others who are considering going under the knife to recognize the potential for long-term impacts.
“I still have to see my body every single day,” she said, “and those scars are just a reminder.”
And while there may never be closure, she said it does help to know the state is taking action.
After telling her story to FOX 13 News earlier this year, Marrelli said she heard from several other patients who told her they’d had similar experiences with Kelly. And she hopes that by continuing to speak out, she can help reduce the stigma of cosmetic surgery and spark a broader conversation about safety in the lucrative industry.
“To talk about it I feel like it’s helped,” she said. “Those people that reached out to me just on social media, who knows how long they’ve been festering and feeling lost with no hope. So then they saw me come out, maybe that made them feel a little more comfortable and a little more confident to step out and say ‘Hey, it happened to me, too.’”
VIDEO BELOW: Mark Steinagel with the Utah Division of Professional Licensing urges members of the public to do their research before choosing a medical provider