\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Photo: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tby Sidnee Michelle <\/p>\n
July 7, 2026<\/p>\n
The disciplinary action follows dozens of medical malpractice lawsuits filed against Espino since June 2025<\/p>\n
Breast surgeon Dr. Sasa Grae Espino permanently surrendered her Virginia medical license July 1, ending her ability to practice medicine in the commonwealth following an investigation<\/a> by the Virginia Board of Medicine into her treatment of two former patients, WTVR<\/em> reports.<\/p>\n The board accepted a consent order concluding disciplinary proceedings involving patients Mandy Moore and Audrey Andrews. According to the order, Espino violated Virginia regulations governing the practice of medicine in her care of both women. Under the agreement, Espino neither admitted nor denied the board\u2019s findings. The action became public<\/a> July 2 when the board released the consent order.<\/p>\n The disciplinary action follows dozens of medical malpractice lawsuits filed against Espino since June 2025. According to court filings, many of the lawsuits allege Espino performed breast reconstruction procedures outside the scope of her qualifications and failed to meet the accepted standard of medical care.<\/p>\n Attorneys representing Espino have previously denied those allegations, maintaining that her education, fellowship training, and surgical experience qualified her to perform the procedures.<\/p>\n According to the consent order, a plastic surgeon who later treated Andrews concluded the operation left her with a deformity and stated the procedure \u201cwas done so poorly it was not consistent with the standard of care.\u201d The order also states that a breast surgeon who later evaluated Moore determined Espino failed to provide appropriate follow-up care and said the preventive double mastectomy Moore underwent would not have been recommended.<\/p>\n Following the board\u2019s decision, Moore and Andrews said they were relieved by the outcome.<\/p>\n \u201cWe trusted someone that really messed us up, mentally and physically, absolutely,\u201d Andrews said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was great news, I\u2019ve been waiting for it for months,\u201d Moore said. She also credited investigative reporting that brought attention to the complaints, saying, \u201cIf you hadn\u2019t started airing these stories, it never would have happened.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am just glad we put a stop to it, and she can\u2019t do it in Virginia anymore. Amen,\u201d Andrews said.<\/p>\n Espino continues to hold an active medical license in Alabama. A spokesperson for the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners said Virginia\u2019s disciplinary action will be documented, but does not automatically affect her ability to practice in Alabama. Attorneys representing Espino had not issued additional public comments as of July 2.<\/p>\n The Virginia Board of Medicine licenses and disciplines physicians practicing in the commonwealth. Public disciplinary actions, including consent orders, are published as part of the board\u2019s official records.<\/p>\n RELATED CONTENT: Meet the First Black Plastic Surgeon to be Formally Fellowship Trained in Transgender Surgery<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" (Photo: Getty Images) by Sidnee Michelle July 7, 2026 The disciplinary action follows dozens of medical malpractice lawsuits filed against Espino since June 2025 Breast surgeon Dr. Sasa Grae Espino permanently surrendered her Virginia medical license July 1, ending her ability to practice medicine in the commonwealth following an investigation by the Virginia Board of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1447339978.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10666],"tags":[8581,24001,1353,23907,24002,3386,24000,4153,19373],"class_list":["post-33981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reparations","tag-breast","tag-breast-surgeon","tag-investigation","tag-license","tag-malpractice","tag-medical","tag-medical-malpractice","tag-surgeon","tag-surrenders"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1447339978.jpg",0,0,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1447339978.jpg",0,0,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1447339978.jpg",0,0,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1447339978.jpg",150,150,false],"medium":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1447339978.jpg",300,300,false],"large":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1447339978.jpg",1024,1024,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1447339978.jpg",1536,1536,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1447339978.jpg",2048,2048,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1447339978.jpg",370,265,false],"kava-thumb-s":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1447339978.jpg",150,85,false],"kava-thumb-s-2":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1447339978.jpg",230,230,false],"kava-thumb-m":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1447339978.jpg",400,400,false],"kava-thumb-m-vertical":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1447339978.jpg",370,500,false],"kava-thumb-m-2":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1447339978.jpg",570,450,false],"kava-thumb-l":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1447339978.jpg",1170,650,false],"kava-thumb-xl":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1447339978.jpg",1920,1080,false],"kava-thumb-masonry":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1447339978.jpg",600,999,false],"kava-thumb-justify":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1447339978.jpg",640,640,false],"kava-thumb-justify-2":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1447339978.jpg",1280,640,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"#RiseCelestialStudios","author_link":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/author\/ralph-c\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"REPARATIONS NEWS<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"(Photo: Getty Images) by Sidnee Michelle July 7, 2026 The disciplinary action follows dozens of medical malpractice lawsuits filed against Espino since June 2025 Breast surgeon Dr. Sasa Grae Espino permanently surrendered her Virginia medical license July 1, ending her ability to practice medicine in the commonwealth following an investigation by the Virginia Board 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\u201cI\u2019m sorry it came to this, where a lot of us got hurt, scarred for life, multiple surgeries, something that is not going to go away,\u201d Andrews remarked.<\/p>\n