A 35-year-old woman has died after suffering a cardiac arrest during a botched breast augmentation surgery at a Sydney-based beauty salon.
The surgeon carrying out the procedure was visiting on a tourist visa, and not registered to practice in Australia.
The deceased woman, Jean Huang, owned a Sydney beauty salon and it was there where she had the breast augmentation surgery.
She died after suffering a cardiac arrest caused by being given too much anaesthetic, thought to be 10 times the amount required.
"It's a tragic case and an unnecessary loss of life," Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists president Professor David Scott says.
It was Chinese tourist Jie Shao who allegedly administered the lethal dose.
She'd been in the country just five days on a tourist visa, and while the 33-year-old claims she's qualified in China, she wasn't licensed to practice in Australia.
The death has sparked concern about a lack of proper regulation around cosmetic surgery, as guidelines vary between states.
"They're outside the network if you like of the Australian Medicare system often, and it's a difficult space for regulation to get into so we're trying to help the government by providing a consistent policy approach," Professor Scott says.
He says he's written to the New South Wales health minister, but wants to take it further.
"We would like to communicate with all of the health ministers, I think this is a national issue," Professor Scott says.
Professor Scott says people wanting procedures with sedation need to be asking tough questions.
As for Shao, she was charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, and using poison to endanger life.
But now that Ms Huang has died, Australian police say they're considering further charges.
Newshub.
