Health authorities have issued a warning to Australians about the dangers of undergoing cosmetic treatments carried out by unregistered people in homes and apartments around the country.
The danger around these procedures was highlighted when NSW Health recently urged anyone who had undergone a cosmetic procedure at a residential apartment in Five Docks in Sydney to see their GP for a blood test for blood born viruses.
NSW Chief Health Office Dr Kerry Chant said people who had received treatment from Ms Pu Liu, also known as Mabel Liu, should seek tests for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.
The risks of using unregistered practitioners
Earlier this month The Age published an article highlighting the terrible damage which can be done when cosmetic procedures are carried out by people with no proper qualifications. Helena Chen bravely stepped up to show the damage caused to her eyes after she underwent double eyelid surgery with Pu Liu in March. As a result of the botched surgery, Ms Chen has been left with one eye larger than the other, and faces a wait of several months to find out if she has suffered permanent damage at the hands of Ms Liu. After seeing Ms Liu’s services advertised on social network WeChat, Ms Chen attended the apartment in Five Docks where she says she was subjected to eight hours of painful “surgery” on a single bed in one of the apartment’s bedrooms.Ms Chen told The Age: “Three times she stitched my left eyelid, then pulled [the sutures] out, then re-stitched them. I screamed at her. I yelled out I need more pain killer injections. She’d do a stitch, then she’d pick up her phone and open a door and leave the room. Then she’d come back in and start stitching again without washing her hands.”
Following the botched surgery Ms Chen has consulted three registered cosmetic physicians who have told her she will need to wait for her eyes to properly heal so the damage can be properly assessed; this will take around six months.