S'porean suffers disastrous nose job in Malaysia

S'porean suffers disastrous nose job in Malaysia
PHOTO: S'porean suffers disastrous nose job in Malaysia

SINGAPORE - After a botched procedure, she now leaves her home wearing a mask.

The Singaporean, who gave her name only as Ms Guo, had gone to Kuala Lumpur on a business trip. While she was there, she decided to get her nose fixed.

She spent RM16,000 (S$6,500) on rhinoplasty, skin whitening and slimming procedures at an aesthetic clinic.

But she developed a nose infection after the rhinoplasty procedure and, as a result, her nose became swollen and leaked pus, reported Malaysian newspaper Sin Chew Daily.

She needs daily injections and medication until her nose problem completely clears up.

Ms Guo, who sells health-care products in Singapore, went to the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) Public Services and Complaints Department for help.

At a press conference, she said: "I just wanted to make my nose smaller, so the nose would be better looking.

"Under the arrangements I made on Aug 26, they injected my nose with hyaluronic acid on Sept 14 and again on Oct 1."

On the second occasion, after the injection, she felt dizzy.

Her nose turned black, she said. Neither the patient nor the staff knew what to do at the time, so she left the aesthetic clinic and, with her friends, returned to Singapore the next day.

Terrible side-effects

After the procedure, she continually experienced side effects including pain in the teeth, breathing difficulties and severe pain in her nose.

She said at the conference: "Even simple activities, like breathing, are harder now... I can't sleep well at night and am suffering from high blood pressure."

The side effects of the procedure has also affected her self-esteem and she now does not like to leave her house.

But she needs to meet clients and factory owners. So whenever she has to go out, she wears a mask.

Doctors she consulted said further work is needed to repair the nose and she needs to see a plastic surgeon.

But Ms Guo is reluctant to do so until she recovers from the infection. At the conference, Ms Guo said that she did not know whether people doing her procedures were qualified to do it.

Two weeks after the operation, she claimed that she tried to discuss matters with the clinic.

But they refused to take responsibility for what happened and would say only that they would arrange for doctors to examine her.

Ms Guo said she visited the clinic again on Nov 5 to hand them a S$2,000 receipt for treatment she received in Singapore.

This, she said, was what she had been instructed to do, but the clinic did not tell her whether it would compensate her.

Health authorities looking into matter

The head of MCA's public services and complaints department, Mr Michael Chong, said that he would report this incident to the health authorities in Malaysia.

He will also send people to check whether the aesthetic clinic Ms Guo visited had met requirements to carry out rhinoplasty and similar procedures.

He cautioned those considering aesthetic treatment to look for qualified doctors rather than to simply opt for aesthetic clinics.

He said that his department had received eight complaint cases against aesthetic clinics last year. This year, they have received five complaints so far.

He added that the department has arranged for a lawyer to follow up on this case and that they would help Ms Guo in filing this matter with the health authorities.

Ms Guo said she does not dare to tell her husband and four children about her botched procedure. When family members ask, she says only that she fell and got hurt.


This article was first published in The New Paper.

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