VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – The owner and president of Virginia Surgical Center faces charges for performing invasive hair surgeries without a license.
Linda Carnazza is charged with three counts of performing illegal hair transplants from 2022 to 2023.
Virginia Surgical Center has locations in Virginia Beach, McLean and Richmond.
The charges are centered around procedures done in Virginia Beach by both Carnazza and Allya Godwin.
Court documents state that Godwin was also operating without a license to practice in Virgnia, but as of July 14, she still works for the company.
A former patient told 10 On Your Side that he figured out both didn’t have licenses after he had what he called a botched surgery back in February.
He had a follicular unit extraction, a hair transplant procedure taking hair follicles from the skin and moving them to areas where hair is sparse.
He didn’t want to be named, but said he started asking questions after he had some strange reactions.
“At 12 days post op, I’ve got these bumps, extreme redness, soreness, so on and so forth going on,” he said.
He said he has redness and bumps on his head and beard, both areas he got the surgery on.
“I have more scarring than hair growth by far,” he said.
He said this has derailed his attempts of bettering his life in 2023.
He had started going to church, working out and more.
“Somewhere in there with the quitting of drinking, I was like, ‘You know what, the hair on the top of my head, it’s falling out and I’d like to do something about it.'”
He explained his experience during the operations, saying only Carnazza and Godwin were present during them.
Court documents support that, stating that no doctor or nurse practitioner was in the room for the procedure.
The former patient said he was already wary about the amount of scarring that would come from the surgery, but was reassured that there was nothing to worry about.
“I asked her in there four times,” he said, “and four times he said “(and) she told me that this will not leave a mark in the recipient area.”
He said this has severely damaged his confidence and mental health.
“I don’t want to go out, I don’t want to do anything,” he said. “I don’t want to have pictures. I have night terrors, anxiety attacks. They’ve literally ruined my life.”
10 On Your Side stopped by Virginia Surgical Center’s office in Virginia Beach to ask for a comment. However, the receptionist said they had none, telling me they had patients in the back.
10 On Your Side also reached out to Carnazza’s attorney for comment, but hasn’t heard back.
Carnazza’s next court date is scheduled for Sept. 14.