Plastic surgeons raise alarm over illegal beauty treatments in Hong Kong

Overseas doctors are illegally performing cosmetic procedures including Botox injections, laser treatments and chemical face peels on Hongkongers - and the local authorities are powerless to stop them.

Local plastic surgeons raised the alarm over the procedures, often conducted in hotel rooms in the city, after having to fix the damage caused by botched treatments. The doctors are breaking the law because they are not registered with the Medical Council, but are likely to leave the city long before the police or health officials can act.

The reports will increase concern over cosmetic procedures after a 2012 case in which a woman died and three fell seriously ill after undergoing procedures at a beauty clinic. Further concerns were raised by a coroner in January over the case of a woman who died after a breast enhancement operation carried out by a gynaecology specialist.

Dr Walter King Wing-keung, former president of the Association of Cosmetic Surgery, said he had recently treated patients who had undergone substandard cosmetic procedures.

"It's been going on for some time and we hear about these cases when the patients get into trouble," he said, referring to both foreign and local doctors who carry out such treatments. "But it won't be easy to catch the overseas doctors. You can report them … but they will be gone by the time anyone does anything."

Dr Stephanie Lam Chuk-kwan, a plastic surgeon with 14 years' experience, says the problem is not limited to overseas doctors.