Woman seriously injured

Illegal cosmetic surgery: more victims wanted

Bloody scenes unfolded in an apartment in Wassergasse.

(Bild: Jöchl Martin)

It was a horror scene that took place in a Viennese apartment the previous week: a 58-year-old woman wanted to have a chin lift, but went to an amateur surgeon. What happened was inevitable: the illegal procedure went completely wrong and the woman was seriously injured. The police are now looking for other victims of the man.

The appeal for witnesses was launched in the course of the investigation in close cooperation with the Vienna public prosecutor's office, as the police announced on Thursday.

Women or men who have more information about the amateur surgeon from the Landstraße district should call 01/31310/62800 or -62122.

Cuts on the face and neck
The 58-year-old woman had come to the 35-year-old's apartment in Wassergasse to have her chin tightened - with highly dramatic consequences. The amateur surgeon made several incisions in his patient's neck, ears and chin. In the course of this, the woman unexpectedly developed breathing difficulties. A drug injected as a result only worsened the victim's condition.

The Austrian woman's companion and an acquaintance of the Georgian then raised the alarm and called the emergency services. Emergency services discovered massive bleeding in the facial area. The victim had to be taken to hospital in a life-threatening condition and underwent emergency surgery. The 35-year-old was arrested for grievous bodily harm and is now in a prison. The woman is now in a stable condition.

Finding out about amateur surgeon at a party
The woman concerned is said to have good contacts in the cosmetics scene and found out about the man's services from friends at a party, according to the police.

According to his own statements, the 35-year-old suspect is a practicing plastic surgeon in his native Georgia. A police spokeswoman recently announced that it was still unclear whether this was true. The man had probably been booking the apartment in Wassergasse for some time via an online rental platform in order to use it for illegal operations, including a provisionally set-up operating table. 

After the incident, the police issued an urgent warning against dubious providers of beauty procedures and medical treatments.