Such surgeries have disfigured more than 200,000 Chinese in the last decade.

Consumer complaints have focused on untrained employees at beauty parlors who perform the surgeries, according to the Chinese Consumers' Association.

There are nearly 1 million beauty salons in China, with a total staff of several million. Many do not meet the standards necessary to perform cosmetic surgeries.

Cosmetic surgery, such as using implants to increase breast size, is different from common beauty care, such as skin treatment, and should only be done in clinics or hospitals, said Guo Yanhong, an official from the Medical Administration Department of the Ministry of Health.

A newly issued regulation on cosmetic surgery service management by the ministry will take effect May 1.

According to the regulation, all places that want to offer cosmetic surgery must have official licences and meet required medical standards for doctor qualifications and equipment.

Otherwise, they will be punished and ordered to stop offering the service, Guo said.

As the disposable income of the Chinese continues to rise, so does the demand for cosmetic surgery.

There are only four cosmetic surgery hospitals in Beijing, which is home to more than 10 million residents. The hospitals are constantly crowded.

The Plastic Surgery Hospital under the Peking Union Medical College and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, for example, receives more than 200 visitors a day - almost 10 times more than that in 1998, said He Xiaoming, a hospital official.

In addition, He said, her hospital accepts dozens of visitors who have been disfigured in surgeries by unqualified beauty salons.

Besides hospitals, beauty salons and joint venture hospitals can apply to perform cosmetic surgeries so long as they meet the standards, Guo said.

Some beauty salons perform cosmetic surgeries as carefully as hospitals do. Others know the risks and shy away from such surgeries.

Qu Yanzhong, president of the popular Beijing Mengnitan Beauty Salon, said his salon insists on performing only common beauty treatment because of the danger involved in cosmetic surgery.

(China Daily March 20, 2002)