Cosmetic surgery shambles: Deaths, disfigurement and debilitating illness

SYDNEY’S cosmetic surgery culture has claimed the life of beauty clinic owner Jean Huang and left several others in constant pain from botched procedures.

Jean Huang went into cardiac arrest and was rushed to hospital after her surgery went badly wrong. She later died.

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SYDNEY’S cosmetic surgery culture has claimed the life of one woman and left several others in constant pain from botched procedures.

Police allege Jean Huang, 35, was killed a fortnight ago at The Medi Beauty business she owned in Chippendale when an unqualified Chinese tourist allegedly injected her with a lethal dose of local anaesthetic during a procedure to put fillers into Ms Huang’s breasts.

Jie Shao, 33, was charged with recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm and using poison to endanger life and her bail has been refused by police.

Jean Huang died after suffering a cardiac arrest during a procedure in Sydney.

Amy Lee Rickhuss also suffered cardiac arrest during a procedure but survived.

Ms Huang’s death is just one example of the dozens of cosmetic procedures that have left women with serious health issues.

In January 2015 Amy Rickhuss went into cardiac arrest during a procedure at The Cosmetic Institute in Parramatta.

NSW health authorities inspected the facilities shortly afterwards and found several patients had suffered potentially life-threatening medical complications there during surgery.

Investigators discovered six patients had encountered significant complications, including seizures and cardiac arrests.

The law was changed last year in an attempt to force surgeries to be done in hospitals or accredited facilities­.

A Cosmetic Institute spokesman said “all doctors engaged by the TCI hold the relevant qualifications and accreditations as required under the state and national legislation”.

CLINICS ARE SCRIMPING ON SAFETY

THE doctor at the centre of a massive class action involving Australia’s largest cosmetic surgery clinic has blasted its practices as a “farce”.

Speaking for the first time since his patient Amy Rickhuss went into cardiac arrest during a botched surgery at The Cosmetic Institute in Parramatta in 2015, Niroshan Sivathasan has exposed what he says are the shoddy standards exploi­ted by his former employer.

Dr Niroshan Sivathasan.

Dr Sivathasan was reprimanded by health authorities in July but said he was made a scapegoat by the scandal-plagued clinic, claiming he left after discovering safety standards were compromised to cut costs.

“It was only when my case went wrong and I started working out what the hell was going on that I realised something was not right and I ­resigned,” he said.

The Cosmetic Institute said all its doctors hold the relevant qualifications and accreditations required under state and national legislation.

Five women came forward last week and filed a lawsuit against the clinic in the NSW Supreme Court alleging the “one size fits all” approach to surgery left them with misshapen implants and damage. The Cosmetic Institute has vowed to defend all allegations.

Dr Sivathasan said the ind­ustry was infested with “pop-up” breast enhancement clinics operating in unlicensed rooms.

HARDLINE TACTICS IN COSMETIC CASH GRAB

WOMEN as young as 21 are being told they need Botox by pushy Sydney cosmetic surgeons.

As part of today’s investigation, The Saturday Telegraph attended a number of consultations at popular Sydney clinics.

Sales tactics being used ­included consultations where clients are required to sit in front of a mirror and frown while a cosmetic surgeon points out their lines.

Women are also being ­encouraged to get Botox in their twenties “before it is much too late”.

“I have a girl who is 21,” one doctor said .

“By the time you start seeing lines it means you should have got Botox earlier.”

The eastern suburbs surgeon also described Botox as “the ­answer” and said by the time you saw lines it was “too late”.

“It is a very safe procedure,” he said.

A nurse at another facility told The Saturday Telegraph they had only informed patients about alternatives to injectables “because they were required to” by law.

Online advertisements for breast augmentations offer payment plans that promise the procedure will cost patients “the same as a cup of coffee per day”.

Others suggest surgery can help patients “find a partner” and “improve their careers”.

According to statistics from the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery, we now have a bigger spend on cosmetic procedures per capita than the US.

DOCTOR WANTS BOTCHERS CUT OUT

A RESPECTED surgeon says he is getting at least eight calls a week from horrified women following botched surgeries by underqualified quacks.

Plastic surgeon Dr Nicholas Moncrieff wants dodgy operators regulated out of the industry. Picture: Richard Dobson

Newcastle plastic surgeon Dr Nicholas Moncrieff told The Saturday Telegraph he was undertaking operations on two women a week needing help after they were left in pain after dodgy procedures.

“Incorrect (implant) placement can also lead to chronic pain and creates unusual breast and chest shapes,” he said.

And the director of Hunter Plastic Surgery said the federal government needed to change the laws about who could call themselves a cosmetic surgeon.

“I’ve been calling for the government to regulate this for several years because these women tell me they thought the government wouldn’t let someone call themselves a cosmetic surgeon unless they were trained as a surgeon,” Dr Moncrieff said.

“Sadly the government has chosen to not give women more protection in this area.”

DOCS MONITOR VIA SKYPE

BOTOX is being administered by nurses with doctors only supervising via Skype if at all.

Australasian Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons Board president Dr Mark Magnusson said laws that allow doctors to do consultations over Skype were put in place to help people living in regional areas not allow doctors to do less monitoring.

“We are concerned about beauty spas in particular that are offering Botox with little doctor supervision or consultation,” he said.

Nurse Nicole Montgomery said the practice was rife and a massive concern. “If Botox isn’t administered properly it can cause blindness, it can actually be very dangerous,” she said.