Fake medicines found in Ma and Li's illegal micro cosmetic surgery clinic [Photo: screen shot from CCTV]

Micro cosmetic surgery is gaining in popularity with more and more young women opting for the procedure in the belief that 'going under the knife' is too dangerous.

But a recent case has highlighted the dangers of the technique which usually involves very small, delicate operations to nerves or blood vessels.

China Central Television recently reported that police swooped on several gangs which were using fake surgery medicine and carrying out operations illegally.

One young woman surnamed Song called the police earlier in May, saying that she was almost blinded in her right eye after undergoing nose reshaping surgery.

Song came across a woman surnamed Ma last year, who was running an illegal micro cosmetic surgery clinic with her husband surnamed Li. Unable to resist temptation, she spent more than 10,000 yuan (1,500 US dollars) on micro cosmetic surgery at Ma's clinic.

The procedure itself was carried out by a woman called Gao, who was a friend of Ma and who turned out to have no medical qualification at all.

Police took Song to a local hospital, where a doctor diagnosed that a chemical called Hyaluronic acid had been injected into vessels under Song's right eye, damaging the nerves in the area, and making any recovery impossible.

Police raided the fake clinic, where they confiscated the fake medicine and found no equipment for disinfecting instruments. They also confirmed that neither Ma nor Li were medically qualified. In early May, the police seized a fake micro cosmetic surgery medicine gang and arrested five suspects.

Questioned about their work, Ma and Li said they discovered micro cosmetic surgery could be highly profitable and started their own business after only a few days of training last year.

Li said they usually used friends and relatives as guinea pigs, and if there was no problem after the surgery, they asked them to introduce paying clients to them. Medicines and surgery equipment were bought through illegal channels, added Li, who said he had no idea whether the medicines were fake or not.