Identified as Jiang Meng, the patient was diagnosed with cervical erosion at a hospital in Dalian, a port city in Liaoning province, the South China Morning Post reported. The unidentified physician then proceeded to inform Jiang that she needed to treat the condition right away — if not, it would leave her infertile.
"They said if I postpone this any longer, I could be infertile," the Global Times reported Jiang saying.
Cervical erosion, a condition in which cells from the inside of the cervix move to the outside of the cervix, doesn't actually affect one's ability to get pregnant, according to Health Line. In fact, it's common among women and usually goes away on its own.
Nonetheless, the woman consented to the procedure. But after Jiang was carted off to the operating room, officials informed her that she had another medical problem that needed urgent attention.
Once again, Jiang gave the go-ahead.
It was at this time that the acting physician presented her with a QR code card in the operating room that indicated that the procedure was going to cost her $286. Using her WeChat Pay account, the 20-year-old patient paid a portion of the add-on surgery and cleared the remainder at a later time, the Post noted.
However, after Jiang left the hospital, she became concerned about what had happened and decided to seek a second opinion at a different hospital. The doctor ultimately informed her that the undisclosed second procedure was never necessary.
Upset, Jiang later took to social media to voice her outrage.
After catching wind of what happened to Jiang, the Health and Family Planning Commission in Dalian launched an investigation.
According to the Post, a report has not yet been released by the commission.
