22-year-old student in Chennai dies after hair transplant surgery

Chennai: A college student in Chennai who underwent a hair transplant procedure last month to treat his slight baldness ended up dead just two days after the surgery. Santosh, 22, had developed a fever immediately after the 10-hour-procedure that involved 1,200 hair transplants and passed away on the third day in a private hospital.

His parents claim that the doctors at the Advanced Robotic Hair Transplant Centre who had treated Santosh were not professional surgeons and that the  anaesthetist left soon after the procedure began. Both doctors responsible for the treatment are absconding.

"They earn fifty to sixty lakhs every day. For them, only money matters. They don't value life. I lost my son in a short time. This should not happen to anyone. We need justice, arrest both doctors," Santosh’s mother Ms Josbeen said. It is reported that she had paid Rs. 73,000 for her son’s hair transplant procedure.

Authorities state that the hair transplant centre had acquired a license only to run a hair salon which too expired two months ago. Despite having qualified doctors, the centre lacked the infrastructure to handle any complications resulting due to a surgery. It did not have an operation theatre or even a sterile place, officials observed. The centre has now been sealed by authorities and the drug controller has also recovered a huge stock of medicines that were kept over there without a licence.

The owners of the Advanced Robotic Hair Transplant Centre have now been sent a notice by the state medical council. The case has led the health department to recommended strict regulations for centres that deal with surgical procedures like hair and wart removal while masquerading as beauty salons, spas and hair treatment centres.

A case of suspicious death has been filed by the police. Officials are also working on getting Santosh’s body exhumed as he was buried without a post mortem. A police officer, who did not want to quoted said that the hair transplant centre is actually based out of Pune and has 17 centres in seven cities.