Hanoi - A Vietnamese waitress has died after undergoing
silicone breast implant surgery at an unlicensed clinic, officials
said Wednesday.
Dinh Thi Thu, 30, died late Monday after being treated for two
days at the Rach Gia General Hospital in Kien Giang province, 250
kilometres south-west of Ho Chi Minh City, according to the director
of the hospital Pham Van Dom.
Dom said Thu had been admitted last Saturday suffering high fever,
nausea and postoperative shock. She died whilst being taken to a
hospital in Ho Chi Minh City after her symptoms worsened.
'She had this surgery at an unlicensed clinic in the province a
week ago and we suspect that it was the surgery which caused her
death,' Dom said.
Local newspaper Tien Phong said Thu had paid the surgeon 1.8
million dong (108 dollars) for the operation.
A local police officer said the police would probably launch a
criminal investigation into the case once the autopsy results were
available.
Ngo Quoc Tan, who is in charge of the autopsy, said the results
will be available next week.
In 2006, a 34-year-old woman died after undergoing breast surgery
at her house in Ho Chi Minh City. She died after the freelance
surgeon injected an unidentified liquid into her breasts.
Plastic surgery has been under increasing scrutiny after several
deaths in recent years were linked to unlicensed breast implant
operations.
Despite an annual per-capita income of more than 900 dollars,
Vietnam has seen an increase in plastic surgery, especially in
booming Ho Chi Minh City, which alone has more than 40 clinics
licensed to perform nose jobs, chin implants and lip enhancements.
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