NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (KNX) — A former patient of physician and Real Housewives of Orange County cast member Jennifer Armstrong has sued the dermatologist claiming she was subject to unlicensed treatment in her Newport Beach practice, Advanced Skincare MedCenter.
The plaintiff, Terri Litzkow, an Orange County realtor, even planner, and one-time Los Angeles Raiders cheerleader, alleged Armstrong — who joined the hit Bravo reality series in 2021 — allowed Donald Woo Lee to perform facial threat left treatments on her even though his medical license had been revoked for engaging in fraudulent medical billing. In Litzkow’s Dec. 27 suit, she claimed to have been treated by both Armstrong and Lee several times between 2017 and 2021.
Lee was indicted in 2016 in a federal investigation of over 300 defendants and $900 in fraudulent bills. He surrendered his license to the California State Medical Board in 2019.
That year, Lee was convicted for performing unnecessary vein ablation procedures on patients and for repackaging and reusing catheters that were FDA-approved for single-use only.
The Department of Justice also successfully prosecuted Lee for billing Medicare $12.4 million for the unnecessary vein ablation procedures, enriching himself by about $4.5 million in the process.
Litzkow claimed she started experiencing pain in her face in 2020 following a thread lift procedure at Armstrong’s office. A thread life, also known as a “lunchtime lift,” uses absorbable, barbed sutures to stimulate production of collagen in the facial skin, producing a tighter, lifted look. Litzkow believed a suture had come loose internally and was irritating her skin.
Litzkow said in court documents Armstrong then directed her to consult with Lee, who would “fix the problem” and “alleviate the pain,” but did not inform her that he was unlicensed to practice medicine in California.
Lee has denied ever being employed by Armstrong, according to Southern California News Group, but has admitted to training the reality star in cosmetic thread lift procedures at her office in 2019 and 2020. He said that while he performed some cosmetic procedures on Armstrong herself, he never treated any of her patients.
Lee also provided Armstrong’s practice with cosmetic threads and other surgical products through his medical supply company, Global Vein Management.
Litzkow’s suit is only the latest to hit the Newport Beach dermatology practice with reality-TV connections. Armstrong has been named as a defendant in a number of actions in recent years, some involving her dermatology practice, others more personal in nature. In 2013, she was accused by a former fiancé of swindling him of nearly $850,000 meant for medical and fertility treatments. Armstrong then ended the relationship after birthing twins fathered by another man.
Armstrong has denied the allegations made by her former fiancé. She has not commented on Litzkow’s lawsuit.
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