Kannada actor dies as cosmetic surgery allegedly goes awry

BENGALURU: A promising young TV actor died after undergoing plastic surgery at a city facility here, police said on Tuesday, with the victim's family alleging medical negligence over the 'fat-free' procedure she underwent at the cosmetic centre.

Chethana Raj (21), who is said to have had a promising career, had made a mark in daily soap operas such as 'Doresani' and 'Geetha.' She was admitted to Dr Shetty's Cosmetic Centre on Monday for a plastic surgery.

While undergoing the 'fat-free surgery' in the hospital, things went wrong during operation after anesthesia, police said. As she suffered a cardiac arrest, anesthetist Dr Melvin rushed her to the Kaade Hospital.

According to a complaint lodged by Dr Sandeep V, the ICU intensivist at the Kaade Hospital, Dr Melvin rushed her to the hospital and 'threatened' everyone to treat her the way he was directing.

He also stated there was no pulse on the victim and tried CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) for 45 minutes to revive her but there was no response. He suspected she was brought dead.

"We strongly object to this kind of behaviour by these doctors and if necessary we may decide to file a report against them. This report is sent to you to bring to your notice that this incident does not appear normal," Dr Sandeep said in his complaint.

There was no immediate response from Dr Shetty's Cosmetic Centre despite repeated calls and messages.

Chethana's father K Varadaraj said the hospital authorities told him his daughter died of a cardiac arrest. He has lodged a complaint at the Basaveshwara Nagar police station alleging medical negligence against them, he added.

A television actor who worked with Chethana, on conditions of anonymity said the latter was a promising and ambitious actor who wanted quick success.