Can you imagine having to literally sleep with your eyes open as a result of a botched cosmetic surgery AND having to pay defamation penalties to the doctor who performed it? This is the ordeal that a Chinese woman has been going through for six years.
In June 2020, a woman surnamed Wang went to the Meixi Cosmetic Surgery Clinic in Suzhou City, China’s Jiangsu Province to undergo double eyelid surgery. Also known as Asian blepharoplasty, this is a relatively common cosmetic procedure that creates or enhances an upper eyelid crease. However, in this particular case, the effect was not the desired one.
After paying 12,000 ($1,800), Wang was operated on by a surgeon called Meng, who claimed to also be the clinic’s marketing director. Wang was discharged that same day, but that very night, she started experiencing severe pain. She called Meng and was casually told that everything was fine and the pain would disappear in a matter of days.
Unfortunately, as time went by, Wang’s symptoms worsened. Not only did the pain not subside, but her eyelids had begun to turn outward, and her eyes began secreting large amounts of fluid that continuously dripped down her face. To make matters worse, Meng stopped answering her calls, and she had to seek help at a local hospital.
Doctors at a major hospital discovered she had damaged my tear ducts and performed the eyelid surgery incorrectly,” Wang said. “They advised me to have another surgery to correct the mistake.”
The young woman did get corrective surgery at one point, but she was still left with eyelid damage that prevented her from fully closing her eyes, even when she slept. In 2022, following an assessment by a local agency, Wang’s eye injury was determined to be a level 9 disability, with 10 being the most severe level.
“The surgery left me with serious consequences. I was so ashamed that I didn’t dare go to work or meet anyone. Afterwards, I suffered from depression and insomnia,” the woman recounted.
Wang ended up suing Meng after investigators found that she did not have a medical license, while the clinic she worked at also lacked a legal business license. Before the Court issued its verdict, the accused sent her lawyer to negotiate a settlement with Wang, in order to avoid a possible prison sentence.
In the end, the two parties reached an agreement. Meng was to pay Wang 850,000 yuan in damages ($125,650), but Wang had to delete all her social media posts regarding her ordeal and pledge not to seek legal action again or speak about her surgery to any media outlets. The agreement stated that, if she failed to meet these conditions, she would have to pay Meng 400,000 yuan ($59,000).
Wang thought that, after signing the settlement agreement, she could go back to leading a normal life, but she soon learned that Meng had started posting videos on social media insulting her and accusing her brother of fraud, among other things. Her sister-in-law fought back, posting documents proving that Meng had practiced medicine illegally, and Wang herself appeared in several videos to recount her story and clear her name.
The moment Wang went online and spoke about her plastic surgery ordeal, she broke her agreement, and Meng immediately took her to court. Earlier this year, a judge ruled in favor of the surgeon, ordering Wang to repay 400,000 yuan as per the terms of their agreement. Despite efforts to have a higher-level prosecution agency review the case, Wang’s request was rejected on May 23rd, and she now has to pay Meng 400,000 yuan.
“Protecting my rights is really difficult. Let me be a lesson for all you ladies out there. Think carefully before undergoing cosmetic surgery, because it could lead to lifelong regret,” Wang recently warned on social media.
