A GUANGZHOU court Tuesday (May 30) ordered a local beauty clinic to pay compensation of more than 19,000 yuan along with medical expenses to a woman who suffered injury after being administered a banned toxic gel during a breast enlargement surgery at the clinic, the South China Morning Post said yesterday.

The ruling, described by media as the first in favor of victims who have suffered similar injuries, was handed down by the Tianhe District Court against Guangzhou Huamei Cosmetic and Plastic Surgery Clinic.

The clinic's head, surnamed Han, insisted that his clinic had "never breached laws and regulation." But he declined to comment further.

The court said the woman, identified only as Xu, had 200ml of polyacrylamide hydrogel, or the Amazing Gel, injected into her breasts at the clinic last May. She suffered side effects shortly after the surgery. The gel formed hard lumps in her breasts, caused infections and migrated around her body. She tried to have the gel removed but doctors were not able to do so.

The court did not rule on the use of the gel, but on the standard of the clinic, saying surgeons at the clinic were not qualified to use the material in an operation.

The gel was commonly used on the mainland, particularly in breast enlargements, until the State Food and Drug Administration banned it last month due to safety concern.

The court ruling was welcomed by lawyer Pu Zhiqiang, who is one of the lawyers representing Shenzhen woman Zhang Huiqin in her suit against Shenzhen Fuhua Hospital for alleged injuries resulting from an injection of the Amazing Gel.

"The result will send a positive message. But the compensation amount is too small. It is not enough to cover the patient's losses. It will discourage patients from suing the cosmetic hospitals," Pu said.

Editor: Wing