Chinese woman 'brain dead' after botched plastic surgery in S. Korea

A 50-year-old woman fell into a coma after undergoing some relatively routine plastic surgery in Seoul, South Korea, last week. The surgery was performed at a clinic that lacked proper government registration, and has since been closed.

China Daily says "the woman's heart suddenly stopped beating [during the procedure] and she suffered brain death." The Daily doesn't elaborate on her condition, and the Korean Chosun Ilbo says that doctors have declined to give further details, citing patient confidentiality.

The woman was undergoing a relatively minor "double eyelid" surgery, a very common plastic surgery that gives Asian women (and occasionally men) the eyelid crease common to Caucasians. She was also undergoing an unspecified fat removal procedure.

The clinic she visited was unauthorized and illegal, and was shutdown after the woman was sent to the hospital. This is admittedly speculation, but it sounds likely that this case involves anaesthesia gone wrong.

The woman reportedly regained some consciousness on Friday, but there have not been any updates regarding her mental condition.