A Chinese woman who was only identified as Ms Zhao, no first name was given, was astonished after her nose surgery when she woke up to a solid piece of her ear cartilage removed, allegedly without her consent, at the Angel Wing Hospital in Chengdu, China.
The 31-year-old woman underwent a rhinoplasty surgery procedure at the hospital on the 1st of September 2020, the second procedure she has done in five years.
She stated that she felt fine after the procedure and thought she looked good until she realised that something was wrong with her right ear, this was four days after the surgery.
The tragus, the small pointy cartilage on the inside of the inner side of the ear, had been surgically removed, only no one had informed her about it.
When Ms Zhao decided to confront the hospital staff about the matter she was told that it was normal procedure and that she had given her consent by signing an agreement that mentioned that cartilage for rhinoplasty would be used.
Ms Zhao stated that she spoke to several plastic surgery experts, in order to get another opinion, who confirmed to her that cartilage from behind the ear is commonly used for rhinoplasty procedures because it does not impact the patients look.
However, a spokesperson from the Angel Wing Hospital stated that cartilage from the back of the ear can cause ear atrophy and that is why they used cartilage from the front.
Ms Zhao stated that she is embarrassed by the look of her ear and has demanded a full refund, financial compensation as well as a new operation to fix her ear.
The 31-year-old’s conflict with the Chengdu hospital has resulted in heated arguments which the police had to intervene.
