SAN DIEGO — A disgraced surgeon who went to prison for his role in a patient’s botched plastic surgery death has surrendered his Arizona medical license.
Dr. Carlos Chacon, who used to own a plastic surgery center in San Diego County, was licensed and able to practice in Arizona up until last week when the state medical board voted to accept an agreement between the doctor and the state Attorney General.
“I'm delighted and relieved that that finally happened. I was horrified that he was able to renew his license,” said Judith Gorcey, whose daughter Megan Espinoza died after seeing Chacon for a breast augmentation at Divino Plastic Surgery in Bonita, Calif.
Instead of calling 911 when the 2018 surgery went wrong and Espinoza’s heart stopped, Chacon left the 36-year-old dying on the operating room table for more than three hours, the court heard.
According to court testimony, Chacon hired a nurse with no training in anesthesia who gave Espinoza a fatal dose of drugs including fentanyl and ketamine. The nurse was also charged and sent to prison for her role in Espinoza’s death.
Chacon was released from prison in March after spending a year and a half behind bars.
A judge sentenced him to a three-year prison term in 2024 after he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for his role in Espinzoa’s death.
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Board renewed license despite criminal charges
As part of his plea-deal, Chacon was given a lifetime ban on practicing medicine in California.
But In April, Team 10 got a tip that Chacon’s medical license in Arizona was still valid.
“I was totally blindsided and so grateful that you found that information,” said Gorcey in an interview from Oxnard, Calif., on Monday.
Medical board records reviewed by Team 10 confirmed Chacon’s Arizona license was renewed after he was criminally charged in California.
“I was horrified because I had been assured by the San Diego DA that when he surrendered his license in California that there was reciprocity with Arizona,” said Gorcey.
Chacon had been on the Arizona regulator’s radar after he failed to report his 2021 criminal charges to the state agency within 10 days as required by law, records show.
Despite pleading guilty in 2024 to voluntary manslaughter and treating the sick without a certificate in California, the Arizona medical board kept Chacon’s license in place with some restrictions.
The board told Team 10 it could not revoke the license, which Chacon had held since 2008, without going through a formal process.
The matter was slated for a hearing, but last week the doctor and the Arizona Attorney General’s office reached an agreement in which Chacon surrendered his medical license.
Gorcey is now helping to raise her daughter’s two sons and uses photos to keep her memory alive.
“The oldest one will say, you know, it's hard, Grammy. It's hard,” Gorcey said.
Chacon did not return a request for comment.
