Cosmetic surgery clinic fined for sculptures made of patients’ bones

Two glass vases had been filled with over 2,000 jaw bone fragments with patient names written on them

At first glance they could be mistaken for some kind of abstract art, but two glass towers filled with human jaw bone fragments have landed a South Korean plastic surgery with a fine.

The clinic had filled two 60cms-tall glass structures with over 2,000 jawbone parts removed from around 1,000 patients and placed them in its plush clinic in the upmarket Gangnam district of the capital Seoul. Patients' names were written on the bones.

It even posted a photograph of the 'sculpture' on its website, leading to a backlash as people upset by the pictures complained. The clinic swiftly removed the photos, according to the local Chosun Ilbo newspaper.

Officials ordered the clinic to remove the towers and fined it £1,600 for "violating medical waste disposal regulations".

The law in South Korea requires hospitals to store surgical remains in special containers, and transport them to be incinerated in designated vehicles.

The clinic said it was not aware that it was breaking any laws.

Cosmetic surgery on the jaw is a very popular procedure in South Korea, according to Agence France Presse, especially among women aspiring to have a thinner facial look with a V-shaped chin.