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Published on February 1, 2008

The court is considering the lawsuit and will decide later if it should go to trial.

Plaintiff Srihathai Bovorn-thammarat, 37, is suing Vejthani Public Co Ltd and Dr Chanthat Kolkitkowin for Bt4.64 million plus 7.5 per cent annual interest until the payment is made.

The lawsuit stated that Srihathai, who weighed 98 kilograms, had consulted Dr Chanthat on January 25 last year about the risks involved in the Bt159,000 liposuction operation on her waist and back.

The doctor told her it was safe and that the wound - made to look like a Caesarean section - would heal in two weeks.

So she said, she decided to undergo the operation on January 31 last year.

After the procedure, Srihathai said she could not move due to the pain, as well as the blisters and pus that came from the wounds on her back and waist.

A week later, when the doctor cut the stitches and noticed the pus seeping out, he allegedly said it was normal and that the wounds would soon heal.

However, Srihathai's condition got worse, and the pus and abdominal fat continued seeping out.

Two months later, large scars emerged on her waist, so she went to seek the doctor's advice on March 31. She was then told she should undergo another liposuction procedure on her waist and thighs, which would cost Bt80,000.

She underwent the surgery on April 3 last year, the lawsuit said, but the old condition did not improve and her weight did not come down.

Srihathai said she had became interested in liposuction surgery at the hospital after seeing an ad about it in a magazine.

She said Chanthat had told her a single-layered liposuction would cause minimal pain, reduce her waist by 10 centimetres and that the wounds would heal in two weeks.

However, she ended up with infections after the first procedure and the second one caused her belly button to disappear, she claimed.

Learning that a friend had undergone a successful liposuction procedure at another hospital for a mere Bt65,000, Srihathai decided to meet executives at Vejthani Hospital but was fobbed off, she said, adding that the doctor in charge of her case also resigned from the hospital.

"Vejthani Hospital later told me that they would fix the wounds and gave me a new belly button but would not refund nor pay me any compensation. They said I should accept this offer or go somewhere else," she said.

She also alleged that the hospital had tried to block access to her medical information to prevent her using any evidence against them.

She said she wanted her case to help set a standard and teach doctors and hospitals to be more careful while treating people.

The Nation