Hong Kong woman dies after undergoing liposuction at Taiwan clinic
Police launch investigation after woman collapsed and was rushed to hospital in Taipei on Tuesday
A Hong Kong woman died in a Taiwan hospital on Tuesday after undergoing surgery at a local cosmetic clinic.
Local police said the 52-year-old woman, surnamed Ma, was having surgery at Just Make Plastic Clinic on Zhongxiao East Road in the eastern district of Taipei.
The surgery was reportedly a liposuction procedure during which Ma suffered complications while anaesthesia was being administered. She was taken to Cathay General Hospital where she died.
Police told the Post that the doctor, surnamed Liu, the anaesthetist and two nurses involved are under investigation.
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The clinic’s founder and head Dr Pete Lee Jin-liang said in a statement on Wednesday the cause of the incident had yet to be ascertained.
Lee, who graduated from National Yang-Ming University’s medicine school, said the surgeon involved was qualified, with good experience of the surgeries of this kind. The surgical procedure also complied with his clinical professional knowledge.
“We deeply regret the incident,” he said, added that the clinic would provide assistance to investigators regardless of the cause.
Lee, a famed plastic surgeon who is also the son-in-law of Taiwan TV programme host Hu Gua, founded the clinic in 2008 and it is frequented by local entertainers.
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We deeply regret the incident
Police in Taipei said Ma’s family was in Taiwan to handle related matters.
The anaesthetist involved in the woman’s liposuction was also involved in previous medical incidents.
In 2004, he received a five-month jail term from a court for his involvement in a liposuction after which a woman died. He later paid a penalty in exchange for the prison term.
In the same year, the family of a four-year-old boy sued him after the child died during a surgery. The anaesthetist was later acquitted.
