The Washington State Medical Commission (WMC) has suspended the license of Dr. Kristine Brecht, a family practice doctor and cosmetic surgeon who state investigators caught carrying out plastic surgeries she had been ordered to stop performing.

Brecht, whose practice was based in Burien, was sanctioned by the WMC in August 2021 for violating several state laws including the inappropriate use of anesthesia, prescribing high doses of opioids, benzodiazepines and muscle relaxers without justification, and failing to properly monitor patients after surgeries.

One of her cases in 2019 led to the death of 54-year-old Shannon Etter of West Seattle. Investigators wrote Brecht caused “severe harm or death to a human patient.”

A 2021 Agreed Order, signed by Brecht, allowed her to keep her medical license, but prevented her from performing “any procedures that require sedation.” She was also ordered to “cease and desist” performing surgeries in her same-day surgery center after the Washington State Department of Health found it wasn’t licensed.

State investigators found Brecht did not abide by the orders by performing several “complex” plastic surgeries with sedation in her unlicensed surgery center this year. They included tummy tucks, fat transfers, breast augmentations and liposuction.

In a Summary Action Order signed on September 16, 2022, Brecht’s license was suspended, and she cannot practice as a physician or surgeon, “pending further action.” The WMC wrote Brecht’s actions caused “an immediate danger to the public health, safety, or welfare.”

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