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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
World
Chris Baynes

Man dies after 12-hour hair transplant

An Indian businessman has died following a 12-hour hair transplant in Mumbai.

The 43-year-old, named in local media as Shrawan Kumar Choudhary, was rushed to hospital with breathing problems after undergoing the procedure at a private clinic.

He died the next day from multiple organ failure triggered by a suspected allergic reaction, police said.

Mr Choudhary, who ran a logistics firm, had paid 500,000 rupees (£5,400) for the hair transplant at a clinic in the Chinchpokli area of Mumbai.

According to The Times of Indiasurgeon Vikas Halwai told police the patient had received 3,700 hair grafts in a single sitting. 

Mr Choudhary had reportedly asked for 9,000 grafts to be transplanted in one procedure, although it is unclear if the doctor agreed to this. It is unusual for more than 3,000 hairs to be grafted in a lone sitting.

The lengthy surgery reportedly began on Friday and was completed at 2.30am the next morning.

He was taken to hospital with breathing difficulties and swelling on Saturday, but doctors were unable to save his life. He is thought to have suffered anaphylactic shock, a severe and potentially fatal allergic reaction.

Mr Choudhary had reportedly not told his family he was undergoing the operation.

Police have provisionally recorded an accidental death and launched an investigation into whether medical negligence was a factor.

India's Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons said breathing difficulties were "a rare complication that only few patients of hair transplant suffer from" and that Mr Choudhary should have been kept under observation for at least 24 hours before being discharged.

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