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Hanoi (dpa) - Police are investigating the death of a 34-year-old woman in southern Vietnam after a freelance plastic surgeon performed a breast enlargement procedure in her home, officials said Saturday.
Nguyen Kim Cuc died in Ho Chi Minh City's Cho Ray Hospital Friday after lingering in a coma for three days, said an official of the hospital's intensive care department.
"We tried our best but could not save her," said the official, who did not want to be named. The hospital was conducting tests to find out what exactly caused her death.
Local newspaper Thanh Nien (Young People) quoted Cuc's mother as saying her daughter hired a freelance plastic surgeon to come to her house in Ho Chi Minh City's where the surgeon injected unidentified liquid into her breasts.
On Tuesday night, Cuc complained to her mother that she was tired and stayed in her room without eating anything. The next morning, Cuc's mother came into her room and found her lying unconscious.
Hospital officials are conducting tests on the liquid.
Cuc is the second woman in Ho Chi Minh City to die from unlicensed plastic surgery in a month. A 41-year-old woman died in early February at an unlicensed clinic after having her implants removed.
Ho Chi Minh City alone has more than 40 clinics and beauty salons licensed to perform cosmetic procedures, such as nose jobs, chin implants and lip enhancement.
Copyright 2006 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
