{"id":782870,"date":"2026-07-25T01:18:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T01:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/782870\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T01:18:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T01:18:10","slug":"plastic-surgeons-license-suspended-after-tribune-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/782870\/","title":{"rendered":"Plastic surgeon\u2019s license suspended after Tribune investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"

State officials have suspended a Chicago plastic surgeon\u2019s license, temporarily barring him from practicing medicine in Illinois, following a Tribune investigation<\/a> finding the state had not disciplined him despite eight patient deaths.<\/p>\n

One plastic surgeon. Eight women dead.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has acknowledged flaws in its investigation of Dr. Ayoub Sayeg, which began after it received a complaint in late 2020 regarding one of the deaths. Three of Sayeg\u2019s patients died of complications from surgery while that process was pending, the Tribune reported in early June.<\/p>\n

Days after the newspaper published its findings, the Illinois Medical Board ordered an inspection of the doctor\u2019s 63 Laser & Skin Clinic on the Southwest Side, and on June 18 two state investigators \u2014 including the department\u2019s chief of investigations \u2014 inspected the facility, according to records the agency recently provided to the Tribune.<\/p>\n

A division director then suspended Sayeg\u2019s medical license on July 7, the records show, saying the doctor failed to provide some materials the department had subpoenaed to prove he was in compliance with educational requirements related to anesthesia services at his office-based surgical center.<\/p>\n

Specifically, the state said Sayeg failed to provide proof of \u201ccontinuing medical education in the delivery of anesthesia services\u201d and proof of a certified registered nurse anesthetist\u2019s advanced cardiac life support certification, according to the records.<\/p>\n

The division director found \u201cthe public interest, safety and welfare imperatively require emergency action to prevent\u201d Sayeg\u2019s continued practice of medicine, saying his actions \u201cconstitute an immediate danger to the public,\u201d the records state.<\/p>\n

Sayeg\u2019s license was suspended \u201cindefinitely, effective immediately and without prior notice,\u201d the records show.<\/p>\n

A woman who answered the clinic\u2019s phone early Friday told a Tribune reporter \u201cDr. Sayeg is no longer here.\u201d She declined to answer further questions and said she would have someone call back.<\/p>\n

\"TheDr. Ayoub Sayeg, whose license the state recently suspended, had been performing plastic surgery at 63 Laser and Skin Clinic on West 63rd Street in Chicago, seen July 24, 2026. (Antonio Perez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

The Tribune\u2019s investigation described how eight of Sayeg\u2019s patients \u2014 all of them women of color \u2014 died in a seven-year span shortly after their surgeries at his clinic, located at 3918 W. 63rd St. in a predominantly Latino neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Six of the women died from complications of plastic surgery, according to medical examiner and coroner records, and the other two overdosed on pain medication at home. Each surgery involved a tummy tuck and at least one other procedure, typically liposuction.<\/p>\n

State officials have acknowledged<\/a> they acted too slowly after receiving a complaint on Oct. 26, 2020, about the death of Idalia Corcoles, a 39-year-old Chicago mother of four who died the previous year, shortly after her surgery. Her family sued Sayeg and his anesthesiologist in 2021, and jurors delivered a $56 million verdict in late 2024 following a trial. Meanwhile, the state licensing investigation languished.<\/p>\n

Illinois regulators to audit plastic surgeon case, seek changes in law after Tribune investigation<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Not until Sept. 5, 2025, did the department file a complaint alleging the doctor\u2019s conduct violated the Illinois Medical Practice Act, the newly obtained records show. On April 9, the department amended its complaint to include allegations involving another patient, Crystal Walker Keating, 47. She died in November 2018, the same day Sayeg performed her tummy tuck, liposuction, flankplasty and fat grafting of the buttocks, also known as a Brazilian butt lift.<\/p>\n

Her estate filed a wrongful death lawsuit and a trial ended in 2024 with a hung jury. After that, attorneys agreed to nearly $1.1 million in settlements with the various parties, including the hospital and medical staff that treated Walker Keating. Sayeg and his business entities were responsible for $470,000 of the total, court records show.<\/p>\n

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has pledged to pursue the maximum penalty against Sayeg to bar him from practicing in Illinois. Sayeg, 58, who lives in Michigan and runs another plastic surgery business there, is fighting to keep his Illinois license.<\/p>\n

Sharon Israel, 49, of Round Lake, died shortly after she underwent surgery on April 14, 2021. Her stepdaughter, Yacarah Israel, told the Tribune on Friday that while the doctor\u2019s temporary suspension brought her some solace, she wishes the state had acted earlier.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt least other people won\u2019t be harmed,\u201d she said. \u201cHow many deaths does there have to be before they say, \u2018OK, let\u2019s really take control and take action?\u2019 Why does there have to be so many deaths for them to finally find a reason, because I\u2019m pretty sure the information they found now they could have found before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"YacarahYacarah Israel holds a photo of her stepmother, Sharon Israel, who died after undergoing plastic surgery, on May 1, 2026, in Baytown, Texas. (Danielle Villasana\/for the Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Sayeg has not responded to repeated Tribune requests for comment, but department records show he has denied wrongdoing in the care of his patients. His attorneys recently raised a statute-of-limitations argument regarding the investigation into Corcoles\u2019 death, with the state responding that its complaint was filed well within the allowed time frame, records show.<\/p>\n

His attorney in the state proceedings, Michael Goldberg, described Sayeg to the Tribune on Friday as an \u201cexcellent practitioner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe he is being unfairly targeted by the department for minor issues having nothing to do with his actual abilities as a doctor,\u201d Goldberg said in an emailed statement, referring to the documents the state demanded related to anesthesia services. \u201cI have no idea why.\u201d<\/p>\n

A status hearing in the state licensing proceedings is scheduled for Aug. 17. In Michigan, licensing officials confirmed they also are investigating him after receiving complaints from a woman and her mother about their 2024 surgeries. Sayeg has an active license to practice in Michigan, but state officials confirmed they issued an administrative complaint on June 9 based on their investigation into the women\u2019s allegations that he botched their respective procedures.<\/p>\n

In response to the Tribune\u2019s reporting, Illinois regulatory officials also have said they are performing an internal review of how they handled allegations against Sayeg and plan to pursue changes to state laws to help accelerate the disciplinary process in similar cases.<\/p>\n

The newspaper report drew strong reaction from elected public officials. Chicago Ald. Silvana Tabares, 23rd, whose ward includes the clinic, wrote a letter last month to state and city officials expressing \u201cgrave concern\u201d about the Tribune\u2019s findings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese tragedies \u2014 involving mothers and women of color who sought affordable cosmetic procedures such as tummy tucks, liposuction, and \u2018mommy makeovers\u2019 \u2014 are deeply alarming,\u201d Tabares wrote. \u201cThe clinic operates in a residential-commercial corridor serving hardworking families in our Southwest Side neighborhoods. The reported mortality rate far exceeds national averages, and the prolonged administrative proceedings raise serious questions about the adequacy of oversight for outpatient surgical facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, whose administration oversees doctors, called Sayeg a \u201cwrongdoer\u201d and said his administration is \u201cseeking the most stringent penalties that you can get on somebody that is licensed and breaches their obligations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd of course it is a tragedy \u2014 that people who have been ill-affected by having trusted this doctor \u2014 is something that is unspeakable,\u201d Pritzker said last month at an unrelated news conference. \u201cI think all of us realize that in health care we rely upon those health care professionals to do the right thing and this person was not doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Illinois state Sen. Mike Porfirio, a Burbank Democrat, also pledged to explore legislative remedies \u201cto prevent future tragedies like this from happening again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe victims, their families and our community deserve proper justice for any harm that has been caused,\u201d he said in a statement last month.<\/p>\n

Tribune reporter Olivia Olander contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"State officials have suspended a Chicago plastic surgeon\u2019s license, temporarily barring him from practicing medicine in Illinois, following…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":782871,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[333360,333359,97,252,253,302907,333361,205059,33350],"class_list":["post-782870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-63-laser-skin-clinic","tag-ayoub-sayeg","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare","tag-illinois-department-of-financial-and-professional-regulation","tag-illinois-medical-board","tag-plastic-surgeon","tag-plastic-surgery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=782870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/782871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=782870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=782870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=782870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}