Doctor’s illegal butt enhancements in FL left patients feeling burning, feds say

A doctor promised that silicone injections he used for butt enhancements were “safe” — but many of his patients had bad reactions, including some who went to other doctors to have the silicone removed, according to federal court filings.

Now, Nhan Pham, 54, of Orlando, is facing up to three years in prison, according to a May 8 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.

Pham misled patients when he assured the silicone oil he ordered online and injected into their bodies during gluteal and butt enhancement procedures was “‘natural,’ and would dissolve over time,” federal prosecutors said.

Some patients felt “severe pain” as well as burning, discoloration, itchiness, soreness and hardness at their injection sites after receiving injections from Pham at his office in Kissimmee and his Orlando home between 2015 and 2019, according to prosecutors.

Silicone injections for body enhancements are not only dangerous, but they’re illegal, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Pham, who’s accused of violating the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, has pleaded guilty to a federal charge: receipt in interstate commerce and proffered delivery of an adulterated device, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

His defense attorney, Fritz J. Scheller, told McClatchy News on May 8 that while Pham “has accepted responsibility for his actions, they should not be the sole measure of the man.”

Pham served in the U.S. military and “has provided exemplary service to this country” and “to a countless number of his patients,” Scheller said.

He added that several patients have expressed support for Pham.

For butt enhancement procedures, Pham had patients pay him in cash, according to court documents. He was paid $20,400 in total by six people who received silicone oil injections, prosecutors said.

Injections offered to undercover agent

The gallons of unapproved silicone Pham ordered online was linked to a U.S. subsidiary of a company located in Japan, according to prosecutors, who said the oil wasn’t “medical grade.”

Pham got the silicone oil from an online shop, which “sourced” the oil from another company, which sourced the silicone from the Japan-based company, prosecutors wrote in filings.

Pham was implicated in the criminal case after prosecutors said he offered injections to an undercover agent in September 2019.

His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 14, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

In the four years that Pham performed the illegal butt enhancement procedures, according to prosecutors, the FDA warned the public about injectable silicone.

In a 2017 alert, the agency said unregulated silicone products used for butt, breast and other body enhancements could result in “serious injuries and disfigurement.”

In the U.S., silicone injections are only allowed to be used during eye surgeries, specifically retinal detachment procedures, according to ScienceDirect.

This story was originally published May 9, 2025 at 10:59 AM with the headline "Doctor’s illegal butt enhancements in FL left patients feeling burning, feds say."

Julia Marnin

McClatchy DC

Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.