13 Patients Taken to Emergency Rooms After Bleeding, Breathing Difficulties and Seizures at Gangnam Dental Clinic Where 2 Died

[Financial News] A large dental clinic in Gangnam District, Seoul, where two patients died during implant procedures, is still operating. It has also been revealed that emergency crews were dispatched to the clinic more than 20 times over the past three years.
MBN reported on the 1st, citing data obtained by Lee So-hee, a lawmaker on the Health and Welfare Committee of the National Assembly, that emergency crews were called to the clinic 22 times over the past three years. Of those cases, 13 patients were taken to emergency rooms.
At the clinic, which has attracted patients by advertising ultra-low-cost implants, a woman in her 70s went into cardiac arrest and died while undergoing implant surgery last December. Eight months later, another accident occurred when a man in his 60s died during a procedure.
There had also been a series of cases in which patients faced emergencies during procedures.
In September 2023, a man in his 60s showed seizure symptoms after an implant procedure. Even after paramedics arrived, his body repeatedly stiffened and trembled, and he was eventually transferred to a university hospital.
In another case, a man in his 90s complained of chest tightness during an implant procedure. His heart rate fell below 60 beats per minute, and he was taken to the emergency room. There was also a reported case in which a patient was said to be vomiting blood on the street because bleeding would not stop even after surgery.
Just 10 days after the second death, an 80-year-old man reportedly complained of breathing difficulties during implant surgery on the 13th of last month and received treatment in the intensive care unit of a university hospital.
Son Byung-jin, public relations director of the Korean Dental Association and a dentist with 20 years of experience, said, "An ambulance has never been dispatched to our clinic even once." He added, "I wonder whether these incidents are happening because the clinic in question is providing treatment too aggressively without considering patients' overall health conditions or age."
Concerns are growing that the treatment style of so-called "factory-style dental clinics," which attract large numbers of patients by promoting ultra-low prices, could threaten patient safety.
[email protected] Ahn Ga-eul Reporter