Star-struck China teenage girl splurges US$563,000 of parents’ cash on so much plastic surgery doctors fear one more op could kill her
- Anxious, depressed about looks since school, jealous of classmates
- Has 10 eyelid operations, nose jobs, bone shaving
.JPG?itok=NUwH9YK3&v=1713190226)
An 18-year-old woman who has spent 4 million yuan (US$563,000) on plastic surgery over five years in a bid to look like an acting star has shocked mainland social media.
Zhou Chuna, from Zhejiang province in eastern China, had been obsessed with having plastic surgery since she was 13 years old because she wanted to be as pretty as her favourite Chinese actress, Esther Yu, and dreamed of becoming famous.
Zhou has had more than 100 operations, all paid for by her parents, Toutiao News reported.
Since her school days, she had been anxious and depressed about her appearance, and felt uncomfortable when relatives and family friends said she did not look like her attractive mother.
Later, when Zhou studied at an international school in Shanghai, she believed her classmates were prettier and more confident.
She felt so inferior and jealous of them that she was determined to improve her looks.
Zhou’s mother gave permission for her to have her first operation – a double eyelid procedure – when she was just 13.
From then on, Zhou became obsessed with changing her looks, even dropping out of school to pursue other medical procedures.
“I’ve had almost all the plastic surgeries you can think of, among them rhinoplasty and bone shaving,” she said.
Zhou said her doctor warned her she could not have any more work done to widen her eyes because she had endured 10 such procedures, but she ignored him.
The most painful surgery Zhou has experienced is bone shaving.
She recalled that the surgery lasted more than 10 hours and she stayed in bed for 15 days. During that period, she was lying flat all the time and was fed fluids only.
“Am I scared of it? Of course, but I must do it,” Zhou said.
At that time, no doctor was willing to perform a second operation on her, so she found a new doctor every time she wanted another procedure. Zhou has visited all the plastic surgery hospitals in Shanghai.
“My old friends do not recognise me now,” she said.
Zhou’s mother has stopped supporting her addiction and her father does not approve of her new looks.
“When their friends ask my parents if I’m their daughter, they are not willing to admit it,” she said.
Zhou is adamant the procedures have helped her become more confident and kept alive her dream of becoming a star. However, she says she has finally stopped having surgery.
Lin Yonggang, a doctor at a Shanghai-based private medical cosmetic hospital, told the Post.
“No more plastic surgery can be conducted on Zhou, otherwise her face will be ruined. Further surgery would cause a lot of side-effects, including muscle twitching, facial nerve failure, and brain damage due to the overuse of anaesthetic,” said Lin.
Zhou’s story has gone viral on mainland social media.
“Poor girl,” said one online observer.
“What she needs is to learn to love herself, not a plastic face,” said another.
