Women in Shanghai are being warned to be careful about undergoing plastic surgery as unlicensed doctors could pose a risk to their health.

The Shanghai Commission of Consumers' Rights and Interests Protection issued the warning yesterday after investigating a local plastic surgery clinic.

The commission began the investigation after a woman surnamed Yan complained last month about pain following liposuction surgery.

Yan saw an advertisement placed in a local weekly newspaper in November by Shanghai Yilian Clinic, which claimed "immediate and lasting effect of high-tech plastic surgery to lose weight without any pain."

Eager to become slim again after delivering a baby 10 months ago, she went to the clinic and paid 9,000 yuan (US$1,084) to lose the fat from her back and waist. The liposuction took about three hours to conduct, during which she felt great pain, though she did lose some weight.

Despite taking the painkillers and antibiotics prescribed by the clinic, Yan said the pain became worse and she could barely bend over or sit down.

The commission said the clinic's advertisement was misleading. The clinic also couldn't provide any documents to prove the doctor who performed the procedure is licensed, and said he has been "fired."

The clinic later agreed to pay Yan 4,000 yuan to compensate her for its misleading ads and to cover her medical bills.

Source: Shanghai Daily