SHANGHAI (SCMP): A woman in eastern China has been left unable to sleep with her eyes shut and is constantly crying because of a bungled double eyelid operation she underwent six years ago.
The woman, surnamed Wang, drew wide attention on mainland social media after she shared her legal disputes with the cosmetic clinic in late May.
In June 2020, Wang went to Meixi Cosmetic Surgery Clinic in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, for a double eyelid surgery, which cost her 12,000 yuan (US$1,800), reported the Shanghai Morning Post.
A woman surnamed Meng who claimed to be the marketing director of the clinic carried out the surgery on Wang.
On the evening of the operation, Wang suffered from eye anguish, her eyelids turned inside out and there was a dramatic build-up of fluid inside her eyes.
She was sent to a major hospital for emergency treatment.
“I called Meng who told me I would be fine in a couple of days. After that, she always turned down my phone calls. Doctors at bigger hospitals found that Wang had cut down my lacrimal gland and had performed the wrong operation on my eyelids. They suggested I undergo more surgery to fix the error,” Wang was quoted as saying.
However, even after the surgery her eyelids remained unable to close.
In 2022, the local forensic appraisal authority identified Wang’s eye issue as the grade-nine disability. In China, the most serious disability is a grade-10.
The municipal health authority found Meng did not have a doctor’s qualification certificate, while her Meixi cosmetic clinic did not have a business license.
The clinic was closed down months after Wang’s surgery.
“This operation left me with serious problems. I felt ashamed to work or to meet anyone. I suffered from depression and insomnia thereafter,” said Wang.
She took Meng to court.
Before the court made its decision, Meng sent a lawyer to consult Wang, offering to pay her compensation and to seek her mercy so that she did not need to serve time in jail.
Wang and Meng came to an agreement that 850,000 yuan (US$125,000) in compensation would be paid and Wang would delete all her posts about her surgery and promise never to raise her issue with the authorities or media.
If Wang broke her promise, she must return 400,000 yuan (US$59,000) to Meng, according to the agreement.
Wang received 850,000 yuan but she soon noticed that Meng had released videos on social media, swearing at Wang and defaming Wang’s brother as a swindler.
Wang’s sister-in-law counter-attacked online by sharing documents showing Meng practised medicine illegally.
Wang appeared in some videos, telling her own story to expose Meng’s misdeeds.
This led Meng to sue Wang for breaching their agreement.
Earlier this year, a court made a final judgment in favour of Meng, ordering Wang to return 400,000 yuan as per their agreement.
Wang, who did not accept this result, applied to a higher-level procuratorial body to reconsider the case, but was rejected on May 23, she said on social media.
“It is really difficult to safeguard my rights,” she said. “Sisters, please learn a lesson from me. Think very, very carefully before having cosmetic surgery for it could be a regret for your whole life.”
Stories about women who have developed serious health problems or even died from cosmetic surgery bungles often make headlines in China.
In 2021, an online celebrity in southwestern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region died after a botched liposuction treatment resulted in a massive skin infection.
In the beginning of this year, a woman in Shanghai had cosmetic surgery to make her ears look like those of an elf, but was left with the nerves in her face seriously damaged. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
