On April 10, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health said that according to press reports, the Department of Health Inspectorate has conducted a surprise inspection of 2 facilities not belonging to the medical examination and treatment facility licensed by the Department of Health under the name Athena Cosmetic Institute (District 1) and BVien My (District 3). The inspection results showed that both facilities showed signs of practicing illegal cosmetic medical examination and treatment.
Checking at 12 - 14 Nguyen Cong Tru (District 1), the Athena beauty salon brand is registered as a business household with the industries of bathing, massage, and skin care services. However, the inspection team noted that there were procedures, lights, surgical beds, patient rooms, tool processing rooms and some medical equipment.
At the time of the inspection, the team recorded a customer V.H.T.P (female, 38 years old) waiting to receive a thigh fat suction service. Ms. P said she had performed belly fat removal here on February 21 for 15 million by Dr. Thanh's team.
This is an address on the "black list" of the Department of Health because there have been unlicensed cosmetic activities at this address, causing complications for customers, and constantly changing legal entities to deal with management agencies.
Previously, also at this address, after receiving a report from Cho Ray Hospital about a patient who suffered a stroke after undergoing plastic surgery to remove fat.
In August 2024, the Department of Health Inspectorate issued a Decision to administratively sanction FA PLUS Beauty Clinic Company Limited, with Ms. N.T.N.C as Director and Mr. H.T.H (a fat-pulling practitioner) for providing medical examination and treatment services without a license to operate, the additional penalty is to suspend the facility's operations for a period of 18 months; advertising medical examination and treatment services without a license to operate medical examination and treatment; medical examination and treatment without a practice certificate.
While checking at BVien My Company Limited at 49B Cao Thang (District 3), the inspection team recorded that customer T.T.T.N (female, 37 years old) was waiting to get belly fat. The building is designed with 7 floors and a basement with a back door design. The 3rd and 5th floors are equipped with a surgery room including beds, surgical lights, oxygen bottles, medical tool cabinets; tool processing room; storage room; surgery room...
On the 7th floor, the inspection team discovered a warehouse containing medical equipment such as a monitor, a ventilator, an air intake setter, a loudspeaker, a incinerator, an oxygen tank and 2 bottles containing the solution (suggested fat-burning epidemic)...
Through inspection, the team recorded a document reporting consumer goods with information that the team of Dr. Duy and Dr. Nhan provided a thigh and belly fat suction service to customer N.T.H on April 7. The on-site inspection did not record any doctors with a license to practice medical examination and treatment at the facility.
After inspecting the two facilities, the Department of Health Inspectorate invited them to clarify the violations against the team of Dr. Thanh of Athena Cosmetic Institute and the team of Dr. Duy, Dr. Nhan of BVien My Company Limited. However, both facilities did not cooperate in providing information.
The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health will transfer the case file to the City Police to continue investigating and verifying signs of handling, deliberately avoiding state management agencies, performing surgery without a license or practice license for the above organizations and individuals.
The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health calls on people to carefully consider advertising information about fat-taking and weight loss on social networking sites when the legality of the facility's operations has not been clearly verified.
When people discover or suspect an unlicensed medical examination and treatment service facility in the city or information advertising health services on mass media, social networks, ... can immediately call the hotline or report via the online Health app.
