A man nearly died after an acupuncture session, after an unlicensed doctor claimed that he could treat his tumor.
According to a South China Morning Post article, Mr. Gao, the Chinese man who has a benign tumor, was diagnosed with fibroma under his shoulder blade. His wife, Ms. Zhang, found a doctor through a friend in Henan province.
The alleged doctor told Gao that he was suffering from an “air bump on his back and several acupuncture sessions would cure it. The doctor carried out his first treatment at a computer shop cafe owned by a friend on February 22.
As the acupuncture needles were pierced, Gao started to have difficulties breathing and couldn’t control his body.
Gao was rushed to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with respiratory failure and pneumothorax, an indicator that his lungs were punctured. He was then rushed to the ICU where he was luckily saved.
The hospital doctors told their friend that “he would have been dead” if they had sent him to the ICU a minute too late.
Initially, the unlicensed doctor said he would take responsibility but later disappeared and blocked the wife online.
Ms. Zhang tried to meet the doctor only to find out that he only learned massage and acupuncture therapy from watching other people do it.
A warrant of arrest is now on the way after the local staff at the local health commission filed a complaint. The unlicensed doctor could face illegal medical practice where he could be facing three to 10 years in prison.