Gross malpractice

Illegal cosmetic surgery in Vienna discovered in apartment

The illegal operation was carried out in an apartment in Wassergasse.

(Bild: Jöchl Martin)

A facelift in a backyard surgery in Vienna-Landstraße went completely wrong on Tuesday afternoon: a Viennese woman (58) underwent an illegal cosmetic procedure and had to be taken to hospital with severe bleeding injuries to her face. The "doctor" is in custody.

An inconceivable case of medical malpractice is not only keeping the police busy, but also the doctors at Vienna General Hospital. On Tuesday evening, the medics there took over a 58-year-old woman who was brought in by ambulance with life-threatening facial and neck injuries. After an emergency operation, the Viennese woman is now in a stable condition again.

Surgical instruments, medication and price list discovered
But what had happened? At around 6 p.m., a friend of the victim - who had accompanied the woman - made an emergency call. The police and emergency services were dispatched to an apartment in Wassergasse in the Landstraße district, where a 35-year-old Georgian was performing the delicate procedure, apparently a facelift, on his patient. However, the operation went badly wrong.

The woman began to bleed profusely from the incisions, developed breathing difficulties and her health deteriorated rapidly. The paramedics started emergency medical treatment in the backyard surgery before the Viennese woman could be taken to hospital.

The surgeon claimed to be practicing as a plastic surgeon in Georgia.

Polizeisprecherin Anna Gutt

Bild: Bartel Gerhard/Gerhard Bartel

"Doctor" had no license
In the meantime, the police turned their attention to the "doctor" and a second Georgian who was also in the apartment. "The surgeon claimed to be practising as a plastic surgeon in Georgia," said police spokeswoman Anna Gutt. Whether this story is true is still under investigation. One thing is certain: In any case, the man does not have a license in Austria. He was therefore also reported on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and taken directly to a prison - because he was a flight risk.

Medication, surgical equipment and other medical equipment were seized in the apartment, which suggests that the doctor had already carried out several operations here. Other victims can contact any police station.