A Chinese woman named Lingling, from Jiangxi province in southeastern China, is seeking justice after a disastrous breast augmentation procedure left her severely disabled. According to a report in the South China Morning Post, Ms Lingling spent approximately Rs 2.8 crore (2.4 million yuan) on breast implants and follow-up treatments, only to learn that the implants contained DNA from cattle and moose.
The procedure, which was marketed as an innovative enhancement technique, was first brought to her attention in 2017 by the owner of a local beauty salon. A Beijing clinic that devised the said method, claimed to extract and cultivate the patient’s collagen before reinjecting it into the breasts to create a “self-derived, self-used” result with no rejection.
Impressed by the pitch, Ms Lingling, alongside the salon owner, visited the national capital for the procedure where head surgeon, Bai Jin, assured her that the entire operation was simple and safe.
However, soon after the surgery, Ms Lingling started experiencing pain in the chest area while complaining about a foreign object sensation in her breasts.
To get rid of the pain, Ms Lingling underwent nine different cosmetic procedures in the subsequent six years. From implant insertion to repairs, Ms Lingling had to endure multiple hospital trips with expenses totalling above Rs 2.8 crore.
By 2023, Lingling discovered leakage and deformation in her breast implants. “There were two lumps on my chest that reached my stomach,” she said.
In 2024, she decided to go under the knife at a Shanghai clinic to have the implants removed and tested. It was during this procedure that doctors found the foreign injected material that had caused bodily damage to her.
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Search for justice
Previous patients who underwent breast augmentative surgery at the Beijing clinic also tested their implants and found DNA from camels, bats and gorillas in them.
Ms Lingling attempted to seek compensation for her ordeal but discovered that both the clinic and beauty salon had shut shop.
“The Beijing Creating Medical Cosmetic Clinic where her surgery took place had its business license revoked and was involved in 398 medical malpractice disputes. Its head surgeon, Bai, was also unregistered with medical authorities,” the report highlighted.
Earlier this month, Ms Lingling reported the case to the Beijing Municipal Health Commission. but owing to the closure of the two institutions, her legal battle to seek justice has hit a roadblock.