Lisa Farris worried that a nasty infection from recent liposuction and a tummy tuck was rapidly getting worse. So she phoned the cosmetic surgery center to ask if she should head to the emergency room, she alleges in a lawsuit. The nurse who took the call at the Sono Bello center in Addison, Texas, told her she “absolutely should not” go to the ER — even though Farris “had a large gush of foul fluid” leaking from the incision, according to records in the malpractice case she filed against the cosmetic surgery chain in 2024. The nurse told Farris she “only needed to reinforce her dressing to collect the fluid drainage and give it time,” filings in the lawsuit alleged. “Thankfully, Ms. Farris did go to the ER where she was diagnosed with sepsis from her surgery complications,” a medical expert for her legal team wrote in a court filing. Left untreated, sepsis can lead to death. Sono Bello officials declined to discuss malpractice cases filed against the company, citing patient privacy laws. But in court filings, the company has disputed Farris’ claims. The case is set for trial early next year. The Farris lawsuit is one of dozens of medical malpractice cases filed over the past three years that accuse cosmetic surgery chains of failing to provide adequate care for patients in the days and weeks after their procedures — in many cases by allegedly neglecting to promptly treat painful infections and other serious complications — including for four…
