Chinese clinic under investigation after woman dies following breast augmentation surgery
- Patient rushed to hospital after suffering cardiorespiratory arrest during procedure but fails to recover
- Friend who accompanied her says she was told only that the woman had had an allergic reaction
A Chinese businesswoman died after breast augmentation surgery at a clinic in northeastern Liaoning province, according to local media reports.
The 32-year-old from Dalian, named Wang Li, suffered cardiorespiratory arrest during implant surgery at the Dalian Yestar clinic on July 5, The Beijing News reported.
Wang was accompanied to the clinic by a friend named Fangfang for the three-hour, 98,000 yuan (US$14,245) procedure, the report said.
Fangfang was quoted as saying that as the operation – which started at 11am – dragged on, she began asking staff about Wang’s condition. According to The Beijing News, the clinic record showed that Wang suffered arrest at around 3pm and she was sent to another hospital.
Doctors at the Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University declared Wang dead at 8pm and notified her relatives.
It was not until 4pm that Fangfang was told her friend had been moved for emergency treatment. A report in Bandao Morning Post said that the clinic told her only that Wang had suffered an allergic reaction to a drug.
Linlin, another friend, told The Beijing News that Wang was apprehensive about the operation, but was persuaded by the clinic’s good reputation.
Chinese teen who died during cosmetic surgery had severe reaction to anaesthetic
Liu Aidong, the dead woman’s husband, said Wang had proposed her breast enlargement operation in May and complained that her breasts were too small, an opinion he disagreed with.
“She was so pretty that she did not need plastic surgery at all,” he told the newspaper.
On Monday, investigators from the health bureau of Zhongshan district in Dalian said their preliminary findings showed that staff at the clinic were all qualified to perform augmentation surgery and that their inquiries into Wang’s death would continue.
According to So Young, an online marketplace for cosmetic procedures and a social network for those who have had them, 20 million people in China had cosmetic procedures in 2018, and about a fifth of them were 19 or younger.
In January, Xia Lisha, a 19-year-old student from Guizhou province, died from an allergic reaction to the anaesthetic she was given while having surgery on her nose, news website Bjnews.com.cn said.
Last year, Thepaper.com reported that a 36-year-old woman in Shenzhen died in hospital, six days after three procedures on her breasts and arms.
