The I-Team previously exposed how Dr. William Wright Adams, a St. Petersburg plastic surgeon, was arrested twice for possession of methamphetamine.
In a follow-through to that investigation, I-Team investigator Adam Walser is hearing from a former patient of Dr. Adams who said she had complications from surgeries.
“It’s been physically, emotionally and financially daunting,” said Tiffany Soriano.
Soriano said her life’s still not back to normal after undergoing a tummy tuck and liposuction from Dr. William Wright Adams.
Her first surgery was in February 2021, following the birth of three children by c-section.
“That's why I took that huge leap... was to feel better about myself. To finally feel confident,” Soriano said.
Dr. Adams arrested for crystal meth in 2020
According to a police report, Adams was charged with possession of methamphetamine in June 2020 after deputies found the drug in his backpack at a security checkpoint at the Pinellas County Justice Center.
Adams was going to a hearing on a domestic violence case.
He pleaded not guilty to the possession charge, and four months later, the charge was dropped.
Soriano said she would not have chosen Dr. Adams as her plastic surgeon if she had known he had been charged with a felony drug crime eight months earlier.
“Absolutely not, because I would not have gone to see a surgeon had I known that. That’s the last thing I would have thought,” she said.
When asked what she thought about the fact that the Florida Board of Medicine did not take action against Dr. Adams’ medical license, Soriano replied, “It’s just scary.”
Soriano said she learned about Dr. Adams from listening to “Wild 94.1 FM”
“There were ads for giveaways that they were doing for breast augmentations and things like that,” she said.
Adams gave away procedures as recently as last year, according to these contest rules.
Women were selected for surgery after submitting photos and essays to “Curvy Claus” and “Glow Up” contests promoted on the radio and social media.
Patient says complications developed after surgery
Soriano said she was uneasy about Dr. Adams on the day he first operated.
“He came in and started to draw on me, and I noticed that he smelled very much like cigarettes. It was a very, very strong smell,” Soriano said.
She said that surgery resulted in complications, additional surgeries, and painful procedures.
“That was my belly button uneven and my scar up very high,” she said, showing a picture taken after her first surgery.
“As I started to heal and the swelling went down, I noticed a lot of unevenness where the liposuction was done and also that my scar was very, very high. Higher than it should be for something like this,” Soriano said.
Months after her initial recovery, she returned for a second procedure.
“They did more liposuction, and they did move the scar. They had to completely open me up all over again,” Soriano said.
That time, her incision was closed with 64 staples instead of sutures.
“I said how come you used staples that time? You didn’t use it the first time,” Soriano said.
She said he asked her if her wound had opened up after surgery.
“And I was like, no, that’s not me,” Soriano said.
Soriano found in her medical records two progress reports from Dr. Adams that offer very different descriptions from what she says was a single appointment.
“For June 30, there are two different reports,” said said.
One says, “The patient is without complaints” and “has greatly improved.”
The other says she had a “palpable weakness” and referred her to another doctor “for a possible repair if this is a hernia.”
Soriano has undergone two subsequent procedures with another surgeon and plans to have a third hernia surgery in December.
As of November 28, 2023, the state showed Dr. Adams’ license was “clear and active,” with no record of any discipline or complaints.
Dr. Adams arrested again in 2022
That’s after a second arrest on meth charges in May of 2022.
He pleaded not guilty in both cases.
The first case was dropped.
Charges from the second arrest had a trial date of December 6.
Video from a traffic stop conducted on Dr. Adams shows officers seized three grams of crystal meth from Adams while he was on his way to his office to operate.
“They’re putting someone to sleep right now for me to operate on. So I have to call them if I can’t be there,” Adams said.
Dr. Adams, through his attorney, declined to comment about his arrest or Soriano’s case.
Soriano said she spoke with multiple attorneys, but none would take her case.
If you have a story you’d like the I-Team to investigate, email us at adam@abcactionnews.com.