It’s hard to believe that such events still occur in Hong Kong today. A 55-year-old woman fell into a coma while receiving treatment at a beauty salon, and it was later found that she had been wrongly injected with adrenaline!
Many questions arise from this incident: what treatment was she undergoing when she fell unconscious? Why was she receiving an injection? How did the mistake happen? Was the person who administered the injection a registered doctor in Hong Kong? How was the beauty salon able to store controlled drugs?
It is now known that the woman was mistakenly injected with adrenaline while receiving a facelift. The person who performed the procedure was not a registered doctor! Apparently, the beautician mistook adrenaline for an anesthetic. It is not known whether it was administered intravenously or locally. If it was intravenous, even with a normal anesthetic, there is a risk of coma or death. If even a registered doctor recognizes the danger, why would someone take such a risk for money? If it was local, was a large amount of adrenaline injected to induce the coma? The vials of adrenaline and anesthetics are clearly different, and doctors will typically double-check the medication before administering it. Injecting the wrong drug is a serious mistake! It is believed that the beautician had no medical training. Adrenaline is not a commonly used drug and is only used in emergencies, and it can only be purchased and stored by registered doctors. It is unknown how this beauty salon obtained these drugs, and storing them may have violated the law.
It is unclear why someone would take the risk of receiving a facelift at a beauty salon, let alone an injection administered by a beautician. Similar incidents have occurred repeatedly in recent years. Is this a warning sign that the government needs to do more? Education and legislation are equally important. Let’s hope that such bizarre incidents will not occur again in Hong Kong!