Chinese woman dies after six cosmetic procedures within 24 hours, family wants compensation

Last updated:Nov 12, 2024 09:07 IST

The woman first underwent double eyelid surgery and a rhinoplasty, followed by liposuction on her thighs the next morning.

Liu reportedly died of acute respiratory failure. (Representative image)

Cosmetic procedures have become significantly popular worldwide in recent years, with top surgeries such as liposuction, breast augmentation, facelifts and rhinoplasty being among the most sought after. While these surgeries offer the opportunity to change a person’s appearance, they also come with risks, which can sometimes lead to serious complications, physical injury and even death. One such case has been reported from China, where a woman’s cosmetic surgeries proved fatal, claiming her life within a week of going under the knife.

The woman, surnamed Liu, from the Guigang of Guangxi Province, South China, visited a clinic in Nanning and reportedly took out a loan of more than 40,000 yuan (about Rs 4.6 lakh) to have her six cosmetic procedures done in a clinic in Nanning, according to the South China Morning Post. Her first surgeries – a double eyelid correction and a rhinoplasty – took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, on the afternoon of December 9, 2020.

After a 5-hour session, she then underwent liposuction on her thighs, with the fat injected into her face and breasts the next morning. The procedure also took another five hours. Shortly after the operations, Lui was discharged on December 11, the same day she collapsed in the clinic. She received emergency care and was transferred to Second Nanning People’s Hospital; however, she was pronounced dead in the afternoon.

According to the report, Liu died of “acute respiratory failure” caused by a pulmonary embolism after the liposuction procedure. She left behind an 8-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son. After the tragic event, Liu’s family sued the clinic, seeking compensation of 1.18 million yuan (Rs 1.37 crore), and were only offered 200,000 yuan from the other side. One million yuan should be given for the death of a person. Even if we divided the responsibility, it should still be at least 500,000 yuan. “I refused their private settlement and said we should just go to court,” her husband said.

Future investigation into the case revealed that the clinic had all the legal documents to perform the procedure, and that the doctors were also legally licensed. Clinic authorities emphasized that Liu was responsible for the risks associated with the operation. While the court initially held the clinic fully responsible for the death and ordered the damages claimed by the family, this was later revised to only half after the clinic admitted only partial responsibility.

The final assessment found that although the clinic failed to assess the risks, Liu’s own physical condition may also have contributed to her death. According to SCMP, the incident attracted widespread attention in the country, sparking a heated debate over such surgical procedures.