The death of the aspiring Chinese pop singer during plastic surgery has cast an ugly light on the obsession with beauty. Every year, millions go under the knife in China to change their appearance. But now the tragedy has fueled concerns about the dangers of such procedures.

 

Wang Bei went through surgery to reduce her chin and cheekbones.

Experts say such procedures are part of facial reconstructive surgery, the riskiest of all plastic surgery specialties.

Dr. Chen Huanran, Plastic surgeon of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, said, "It's quite easy to understand. Part of the mandible is involved in the surgery. Here, it's where I marked."

There is a main blood vessel under the mandible. The most fatal problem of such procedures is therefore massive bleeding, caused by mal-operation.

Dr. Chen said, "There will definitely be bleeding during any operations. Fluid may also be produced in the patient's mouth. It could block the windpipe and cause suffocation."

To reduce the chin, grinding the cheekbone is as effective as operating on the mandible.

Dr. Chen said, "The two mandibles and two cheekbones are like the load-bearing wall. They hold up the whole face, allow people to have facial expression. Any moving of these bones, how slight it may be, may result in `collapse` of the whole facial structure."

These two types of surgery may also damage abundant blood vessels and facial nerves around the area, causing facial numbness, a crooked mouth and muscle stiffness.

Facial reconstructive plastic surgery was originally performed to correct functional impairments caused by burns, traumatic injuries, or congenital abnormalities. But now it is more or more often done to improve appearance.

With all these possible scenarios, one may want to think twice before rushing under the knife, just to become prettier.